Bittersweet
by HerBlackWings85
Summary: AU. Starts about 4 years before Season 1. Dean reconnects with a childhood friend after he's injured on a hunt. The annoying girl he grew up with re-enters his life in an unexpected way. Life can be bittersweet sometimes. Rated M for language, physical and verbal abuse (John and OC's father) and sex.
1. Chapter 1

Authors note: Rated M for language, physical and verbal abuse, sex

Bittersweet

Chapter 1

"Dad come on. This is bullshit. I don't want to babysit." Dean Winchester grumbled to his father for the thousandth time since they'd left their fleabag motel before dawn. John Winchester let out an audible, annoyed sigh but otherwise remained silent. His eldest son was trying his patience. Dean was 22, cocky, strong willed but usually the more obedient of his two boys. Dean had also been nearly killed a week ago when the Vampire nest they attacked had eight sets of fangs instead of the three they were expecting. His left shoulder was still healing from a nasty dislocation and Dean knew he was being punished for screwing up the hunt by getting injured . "-And whats-her-name annoys the shit out of me…following me around like a puppy. Hey guys do you want to go swimming? Hey guys do you want to play Super Nintendo? Hey guys-"

John slammed a hand on the steering wheel having had enough of Dean's tantrum. He would have expected an argument from Sam. His eyes flitted to the rear view mirror out of habit; Sam and his unruly mop of auburn hair had been gone for nearly six months. He had disappeared in the middle of the night without a word a week after his 18th birthday. Dean had frantically searched for his younger brother for a week before he finally had to tell his father Sam was gone. It took John two days to find him enrolled in Stanford University on a full academic scholarship. Sam hadn't even told his father or brother he'd applied for colleges. The hurt cut John deep but he knew it had been more savage for Dean.

"Enough. God damn it, you aren't babysitting. Ryan's almost Sam's age for shits sake. You haven't seen the girl in over six years." John took a deep breath trying to lower his voice. Dean shrank against the passenger door trying to keep himself out of reach if one of Johns fists went sailing in his direction. He swore he hadn't meant to hit Dean after the incident with the Vampires but for a few terrifying moments when Dean had disappeared under the snarling mass of bodies he was sure he had lost him. Then Dean has reappeared covered in blood and swinging his machete one handed decapitating monster after monster. The fear had enraged him; made him angry that the Vamps had got the jump on them, angry that Dean hadn't tried to get him to run when they realized how outnumbered they were and angry at himself for putting his son in danger again. And when Dean had sauntered up to him with his left arm hanging limp and dislocated, machete thrown over his other shoulder like he didn't have a care in the world John had seen nothing but red. He didn't stop hitting his son until Dean lay unconscious and bloody at his feet. Half of Deans face was still covered in fading bruises. "Me and Paul are goin' after a pack of Werewolves. We'll be gone a week, ten days tops." He said as he pulled the Impala off the highway.

"Paul's a useless drunk..." Dean muttered.

"He called and asked for my help-"

"Because no one else would come." Dean cut in before snapping his mouth shut. He was pushing his luck. He knew that but he was tired, hungry, horny and his shoulder hurt like a son of bitch.

"I can't trust you to have my back with one good arm against a pack of Werewolves. You stay at the cabin with Ryan. I'll leave you the car. You have my permission to take her out as long as your dick stays in your pants."

Dean snorted derisively. "Yeah no worries there dad. Ryan's a mountain troll. Grubby, buck toothed loser..." He shook his head in annoyance and stared out the window in a heavy sullen silence for close to another hour as his father drove the car through a small town and then winding mountain lanes until they at last they came to private road. Dean let memories of the weeks spent at the Toryn cabin come back. Nan Toryn had been the shining light on these impromptu visits. She was the closest thing to a grandmother Dean and Sam had ever had, always remembering their birthdays and having a platter of still warm chocolate chip cookies ready. Ryan would be waiting on the steps for them to arrive and immediately hounding the brothers to hang out, play video games or go to the lake behind the cabin. Paul Toryn would stumble out from whatever dank cave he'd been drinking in to go hunting; all but ignoring his only daughter and leaving her to be raised by his elderly mother.

The private road was blocked off a hundred feet from the turn off with a ten foot tall rolling gate, thick trees lined either side making it impossible to drive around. John slammed the brakes and muttered curses under his breath when he found the gate still chained and padlocked; rusty "Private property","Do not trespass", and "Violators will be shot on sight" signs along with warding sigils were spray painted along the metal slats. "Son of a bitch Paul..." He yelled kicking the rusted gate in frustration. John got his phone out of his pocket and started yelling into it while pacing back and forth. After several tense minutes a faint shine of headlights reflected through the thick copse of trees as a rusty pickup truck trundled towards them. A huge bear of a man heaved himself out of his truck.

Paul Toryn was as big as Dean remembered, his face all but hidden by a heavy woolen cap pulled low over his ears and a thick unruly ginger beard. The guy looked like he belonged on a Viking long ship not in a cabin in the middle of nowhere Montana. The man peered suspiciously at John Winchester apparently making him answer several questions and take a swig of something out of a silver flask. Paul shook Johns hand through the gate finally satisfied he had passed whatever series of tests he had given him.

"You called me, Paul. Remember that! I got my own shit to deal with!" John yelled over his shoulder as he walked back to the car. Paul unlocked the huge padlock and pushed the gate open waiving the Impala through. "That drunk bastards more paranoid than Rufus Turner." He grumbled angrily under his breath as they drove away from the road and toward Toryn's cabin. The headlights of Paul's rusty truck bounced along after them until they reached the cabin. The two story wooden home rose out of a clearing in the forest, lights shining from several windows. A road weathered 1968 Dodge Charger was parked off to the side of the house, the hood propped open with a toolbox and the transmission in pieces on the ground in front of it. A dirt road wound past the cabin to an old quarry lake Dean remembered from previous visits.

Paul's truck screeched to a halt behind them as the Winchester's piled out of the Impala and grabbed their belongings. "Ryan's inside making dinner; hopefully it's edible." The big man said ambling towards them. Paul had a limp from a long ago fight with a Wendigo that went awry; the limp was more pronounced after he'd had too much drink. Tonight he walked with a jerky unsure step as if his right leg was stuck in a pothole. He staggered twice going up the three narrow steps to the porch and would have fallen on his face if Dean hadn't caught him with his injured arm. He let out a painful hiss cradling his arm close to his body after he got Paul back on his feet. "God damn that useless...Ryan! Turn on the god damn porch lights!" He barked sending a cloud of sour whiskey breath into Dean's face.

"Dad, I told you yesterday there's something wrong with the wires!" A lite feminine voice sounded from further inside the cabin. The mouth watering aroma of pork chops and fresh baked rolls drifted from the kitchen off to the right of the entry way and living room.

"Fuckin' useless-" Paul cussed again staggering away from Dean. The younger hunter looked back at his father and mouthed "Really?" Johns face remained a stoic mask watching as Paul lurched through a swinging door into the kitchen. Paul Toryn was a drunk and an asshole but he asked for help. Heaven and Hell only knows why he reached out to John Winchester after so long. "John Winchester and his boy are here. You best not do anything that embarrasses me." Paul's voice boomed through the swinging door.

"I told you not to call them. I can go with you. It's nothing we can't handle." Ryans voice flitted through the air again. She no longer had the high pitched whine of an overweight tween girl complaining about being left behind while the boys went out to explore the forest. She sounded tense and tired, like she was trying to talk down a growling dog.

"Like you handled those fuckin' Harpies?" Paul yelled back.

Dean wasn't exactly sure if Paul was yelling or if this was simply the usual tone he used with his daughter. "He's taking Ryan hunting? He's gonna get her killed." Dean hissed at his father.

"I saved your ass from those bitches-" The resounding hollow smack of an open palm striking soft flesh cut through the air. Dean moved towards the kitchen only to be stopped by his father grabbing his arm.

John shook his head once. "We're not here to get involved with that." He said quietly.

Dean shifted uncomfortably on his feet, the duffel bag in his hand suddenly feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds. "Why the hell are we here then?"

Paul continued yelling in the kitchen stopping any further discussion. "-And I told you to fix the god damn porch lights. I almost broke my god damn neck."

"I don't know how to fix the electrical. I tried to look it up online but you didn't pay the internet bill-" Ryan's voice was again cut off with another smack.

"Don't talk back to me. I want dinner on the table in ten minutes." Paul staggered back through the swinging door. Dean let his eyes roam guilty around the cabin trying to pretend like he and his father didn't hear any of what had transpired in the next room.

Paul rubbed one large hand behind his neck. "Sorry 'bout that fellas. She's going through a phase..."

John's face remained tight and impassive. "You gotta room Dean can stay in?"

Paul nodded. "Take any of the ones upstairs besides mine or Ryans….How 'bout you John?"

"I'll sleep on the couch. We're heading out before dawn."

Paul grunted an affirmation of the plan and led John into the living room leaving Dean alone in the hallway between the dining area and kitchen. The cabin had seen better days. Nan Toryn had always kept everything neat and tidy. Weapons were never allowed to be left unattended, furniture dusted and polished to shining. Now he could see guns in need of oiling and repair strewn on the chipped dining table, half empty boxes of ammo stashed along the walls and various colorful bottles of cheap alcohol left within easy reach every few feet. He heard shuffling in the kitchen as Ryan opened cabinets to retrieve dishes and silverware. Dean darted up the stairs as the kitchen door slowly swung open, trying to postpone the awkward reintroductions for as long as possible.

He could still remember the layout of the house and knew the master bedroom was at the end of the hall. That's where Nan used to sleep; she had always left the door open in case they needed her during the night. He and Sam had alternated between sharing a room and staking out on their own. Taking the rooms either flanking or across from Ryans at the opposite end of the second floor. Ryan still occupied the same room she'd had since Paul had dropped her off when she was barely four years old ; the only things that had changed through the years were her furniture as she outgrew it. Her door stood slightly ajar and he nudged it open with the toe of his boot. Her doll house full of GI Joes and pink wire framed princess bed had been replaced by bookshelves overflowing with books ranging from mundane mass produced paperbacks to collegiate text books and musty tomes that belonged in museums. Posters for Nirvana and Kiss and several schlocky 80's horror movies had been tacked on the walls to cover wet rot and mold spots. A small mattress lay on the floor covered in pillows and throw blankets. His interest piqued, Dean snuck further into the room wanting to see how much Ryan had changed since he last seen her. Her closet had a handful of black t-shirts, jeans and raggedy Chuck Taylor's. A duffel bag with another set of clothes, a gun, holy water and other necessities sat near the door within easy reach. A small mirrored armoire sat next to the window. Dean ran his fingers along the smooth wood remembering Ryans grandmother sitting in front of it brushing her long silver hair while telling the three of them stories. Ryan's family had been hunters for generations and there were enough stories to be told by the old woman that they never got a repeat.

When Dean and Sam had heard of Nan's death over five years earlier they had begged their father to bring them to the wake but he had refused. They were following leads on the Yellow Eyed Demon and John wouldn't let the trail go cold. Except the trail did go cold, just like every other time their father ripped them out of a motel in the middle of the night and barreled down back roads to an unknown location because someone somewhere might have seen something. "Dean! Chow time!" John yelled up the stairs breaking Deans revere. He turned to leave the room when a small curled and discolored Polaroid picture stuck in the corner of the mirror caught his attention. It was him in all his 14 year old pimple chinned glory, Sam at the height of his Vern Tessio phase and Ryan with her buck teeth and thick rimmed glasses. "Jesus I forgot about the glasses...woof." Dean muttered. He left the picture where it was and exited the room without disturbing anything. He opened the door across from her room, checked that it wasn't full of spiderwebs or rats and tossed his bag and jacket on the bed.

"That transmission giving you trouble, Ryan?" Dean heard his father ask as he stepped around the corner and back into the dining area.

Ryan nodded, her long hair once the bright shade of red that kids loved to make fun of was now muted to a soft strawberry blonde and hung in front of her face. She balanced a tray of steaming pork chops and moved around the table setting food on the mismatched plates. She tucked a long strand behind her ear and said. "Yeah I guess so Mr. Winchester. But I'll figure it out."

John laughed, "Mr. Winchester? You call me John, understand?"

"Yes sir...John. I've been following along with these tutorials I found on line. It's just taking a while because the internet keeps going down."

Paul guffawed drunkly, "Stupid twat thinks she can rebuild that car by readin' books and watching videos on RedTube."

An embarrassed, shamed pink tinge rose up her neck and into her cheeks. It was one thing to belittle her in privacy but when he did it in front of other people she was afraid his hatred of her would spread to others like an infection. "RedTube is for porn, dad. YouTube has the car videos and it's worked so far. I got the engine cleaned up-Ow!" Paul grabbed her by the wrist yanking her towards him. She clutched the tray of food tighter knowing if she spilled dinner whatever punishment her father chose would be very much worse than a couple slaps across the face.

"You talkin' back to me?" He asked darkly.

Ryan shook her head again, "No sir... I'm just clarifying. Your beers running low let me you get you another one-" She said placatingly to her father. His rheumy eyes narrowed scowling at her then turned to his bottle of beer. He released her and grabbed the beer draining the last of it in one long swallow.

"Get some for our guests too." He commanded handing Ryan the empty glass bottle and dismissing her to the kitchen.

John loudly cleared his throat as Dean stepped unsurely into the dining room, "You know Dean's a helluva mechanic-" Dean couldn't remember the last time his father had given him any sort of compliment and he stared at his father for several long seconds. "Maybe you could help Ryan out with that tranny?" John said as Ryan slipped back into the room and handed her father a fresh bottle of beer. She straightened up nervously finally noticing Dean had made his entrance.

She gave him a half smile her bottom lip swollen and discolored from her fathers slaps. "Hi Dean." She said handing John his beer then sitting across from Dean and sliding his beer to him. "You start your ex-wife collection yet?" The corners of her blue eyes crinkled behind her glasses. Glasses that no longer made her look like Squints Palledorous but more the sort of nerdy girl you'd find hiding in between the tall shelves of a bookstore. Dean tried his best not to stare. The chubby preteen loser he'd tried to avoid like a nightmare case of jock itch had grown up. Rolls of baby fat had grown into curves in very nice places that somehow her dark jeans and long sleeves only accentuated. Her overbite was fixed thanks to several years in braces. Even though she sat next to her father with an edge of wariness like a loyal dog kicked too many times she also had an air of self confidence she hadn't had the last time they had seen each other.

"I'm workin' on it." Dean answered. "How 'bout you? You ever get that spot on the boys football team?"

She shook her head and took a bite of her food. "Coach was a sexist asshole. I could've won them all state."

"Maybe he didn't want a dyke on his team and you dropped out like a fuckin' loser anyways." Paul pipped up.

Ryan bit her lower lip grimacing at the pain and trying to swallow down the embarrassed flush that warmed her face again. "I'm not gay and I finished school a year early online." She muttered barely loud enough for Dean to hear and casting her father a side long glance filled with so much loathing he was surprised Paul couldn't feel it.

Dean stuffed a slice of pork chop into his mouth to keep himself from talking back to Paul and probably end up getting his ass kicked by the ginger giant or his own father. "You still got that Super Nintendo?" He asked after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah. Maybe I'll kick your ass at Super Street Fighter later." She said pushing her black framed glasses up her nose.

Dinner passed quickly with Paul and John swapping war stories while Dean and Ryan ate mostly in silence. Paul drained three more beers during the meal and barely remained awake by the time Ryan cleared the table. He finally fell asleep mid-sentence and Ryan dove across the table catching his half full beer before it spilled. She wiped the rim on her shirt and took a long drink eyeballing the Winchesters over the rim of the bottle. "Waste not want not." She said setting the now empty bottle down.

"How old are you?" Dean couldn't keep the bossy older brother tone out of his voice.

"Eighteen…in three days." She said smiling her lopsided, swollen lip smile. "What time you heading out in the morning?" She asked turning her attention back to the elder Winchester.

John leaned back in his chair and checked his wristwatch. "0400. I want to be in Sheridan before dusk. The packs already got a two day head start… I'm leaving the car with Dean. Is your dads truck gonna make it to Wyoming?"

"Yeah. It looks and sounds like a piece of shit but it's a beast. I'll pack his gear up after I get him to bed." Ryan told him standing up from the table. She placed a wary hand on her dads shoulder and shook him lightly trying to cajole the man back to consciousness. "Come on Dad. Let's get you to bed." She expertly ducked out of the way of one of his meaty hands like a boxer avoiding a jab when Paul swung his arm out yelling in a drunken slur. Once he calmed enough to get his wits she positioned herself under his shoulder and heaved him out of his chair.

"You need help?" Dean asked as Ryan all but disappeared under the bulk of her huge father.

"No. We gotta routine." She answered. His big legs dragged behind them as they staggered up the stairway. Paul leaned heavily on the banister as Ryan practically lifted him up each step.

"I told you to fix those god damn porch lights. You're fuckin' useless-" Paul slurred.

"I know." Ryan answered pulling him up another step. Paul swayed dangerously on the landing of the second floor with Ryan frantically trying to encourage him another step, "Dad you're gonna break your god damn neck if you don't help me here." Suddenly Dean was there positioning himself under Pauls other shoulder. Ryan peered around her fathers wide chest and glared at him. "I said I don't need your help." She whispered over Paul who had started to snore loudly.

"Yeah it looked like you had it handled." Dean whispered back and together they hauled the drunk tree sized man down the hall to his room.

"Dinner sucked. I should'a kicked your ass-" Paul muttered once again finding his way back to semiconsciousness.

"Yeah I know that too, dad." Ryan answered blankly as they hauled him another few feet down the hall towards his room. The words had lost most meaning. His verbal assaults weren't nearly as painful as the physical ones. She had given up any hope of them reconciling their toxic relationship a long time ago. They were related by blood and that was all. They weren't family anymore. They hadn't been family since her mother died.

"Should'a been 'chu that died. Not her." Paul continued muttering his nightly belittlements. Ryan didn't respond this time instead she just shook her head as if to wipe his words away.

"Paul shut your mouth. You're bein' an asshole." Dean growled as Ryan swung the door open to his bedroom. Jesus, was this how he had always treated her? Dean wondered as he quickly racked his memory from the time he and his brother had spent with the Toryn's. Paul had never really been around, showing up only after their father had brought them and leaving with only a few clipped sentences. He wondered now how horrible things had gotten since Nan had died and Paul had been forced to be around for his daughter. He faintly heard Ryan draw in a quick frightened breath as Paul's alcohol induced fog seemed to lift momentarily.

"Dad-" She ventured before one of Paul's massive hands slammed into the wall next her. She flinched but stayed put knowing if she tried to run from the fight that was brewing it would end up worse for her.

"The fuck you say to me boy?" Paul grumbled threateningly pulling himself up to his full height.

Dean had peaked somewhere near 6' 3" and he still had to crane his neck to meet Paul's red rimmed eyes. "I said you're being an asshole. You should go sleep it off." Dean said standing his ground and nodding his chin towards Paul's dark room.

Paul flexed his huge fists several times and Ryan shrank back against the door frame. Finally he let out a wet barking cough sending another cloud of fetid stale breath into Dean's face. He clapped a meaty hand on Dean's injured shoulder and Dean barely contained the pained groan. "Your balls must be the size of that Chevy your daddy drives. Come drink with me." He belched again making Dean take a step back and wave the air clear of his stench.

"I think I'll pass." Dean told him through clenched teeth.

Paul shrugged his huge shoulders, turned away from Dean and staggered into his room. "Ryan put my shit in the truck and make sure John's comfortable." He barked before teetering forward and falling face first into his bed like King Kong falling off the Empire State building. He was asleep again before his head hit the mattress.

"You alright?" Dean asked quietly worried he might wake the sleeping drunk a few feet away.

Ryan rolled her eyes and pushed her glasses back up her nose. "Don't pretend like you care." She muttered pushing away from the doorframe and entering her dads cluttered room. She picked a bag off the floor and quickly shoved clothes from the broken dresser into it. Then she brushed past Dean to the hall closet they had transformed to a weapons locker. She loaded boxes of silver bullets in different gauges and shoved them into another bag along with several pistols. Lastly she grabbed a hunting rifle propped in the corner and slung it over her shoulder before heading back down the stairs. When Nan had been alive this closet had been full of crafting supplies and her collection of hand knitted quilts .

"Damn it Ryan. Will you stop a minute." Dean hissed grabbing her arm.

"What do you want D?" She asked adjusting the bags on her shoulders.

"Is he always like that?"

Ryan sniffed derisively, "No sometimes he's mean. You should get some sleep. It's a long drive to Wyoming."

"I'm not going to Wyoming. Dad benched me. My shoulders still fucked up." Dean answered rubbing the new bruises Paul had undoubtedly caused.

Ryan grabbed the truck keys and turned to face him. "So…you're staying here... with me? For a couple of weeks? You think you can stomach me for that long?"

"Dad said it'd be a week-"

Ryan snorted laughter, something she had done when she was younger when one of the brothers had said something stupid. "Our fathers together again on the open road, hunting monsters, drinking the nights away…you ever remember a hunting trip taking only a week?"

Dean scrubbed his hands down his face suddenly dreading this trip more than ever. "Fuck." He groaned miserably.

"Don't worry. I'll stay out of your way. You stay out of mine." She told him.

"Did I do something to you? I thought we were cool." He said.

She shook her head looking over his shoulder to the living room where John had settled on the couch, his arm thrown over his eyes and snoring softly. She decided he looked comfortable enough. "Nan fucking loved you two….you didn't even come to her funeral. Not a phone call, a fucking text or letter. Just nothing. It was like you dropped off the edge of the fucking planet."

"It wasn't like that-" Dean started.

She held up one hand to silence him. It was rare she ever got to speak her mind and she had a feeling Dean Winchester hadn't grown into the type of man that hit women for being lippy. "I know why he hates me." She said tilting her head towards the stairs and her sleeping father. "Just tell me what I did to make you hate me. My skins a lot thicker than it used to be."

"That's…that's not true," He said shifting uncomfortably. "Dad...he wouldn't let us come."

"You could've called. You two were my best friends. My only friends. And it took me way too long to realize you couldn't fucking stand me. With Nan gone you didn't have any reason to ever fucking come back here." He could feel an embarrassed flush heating his face. He had complained to his father just a few hours ago about her, he'd called her names and made fun of her behind her back. He suddenly realized now how lonely she must have been. Him and Sam at least always had each other. All she'd ever had was her elderly grandmother and a hateful drunk for a father. "Fuck it. It doesn't matter." She said in a huff pushing her hair over her shoulder. "By the state of your face it looks like you need a vacation from your old man anyways." She pushed the door open and headed out onto the dark porch and the waiting truck below.

Dean ran his fingers along the still visible bruises on his face. "It was vampires." He called out to her.

He heard the metallic clang of the trucks hatch being slammed shut and her foot steps as she walked back to the house free of the heavy bags and rifle. "Sure it was." She said reappearing in front of him. "You still like pancakes?" She asked as she took the stairs back to her room with Dean following behind her.

"Yeah. Why?" He asked.

"I'll make breakfast once those two asshole hit the road if you'll do something for me in the morning."

"Should I be worried?" Dean asked.

Ryan smirked and pushed her glasses back up nose. Dean had never been more transfixed by a pair of accessories than he was with those glasses and the way they accentuated her pale skin and cobalt blue eyes. "It's nice to see you again, D." She said before closing her bedroom door in is face.

Yeah he was dreading this trip a hell of a lot more than he should have been. Not because he didn't want to be trapped in this cabin in the middle of nowhere with her. But because a part of him did.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Dean slept through the early morning departure of his and Ryan's fathers. He finally woke to the smell of fresh coffee and sat up groaning and stretching his stiff back. Muscle memory led him in his still half asleep state to the bathroom; his feet and full bladder leading the way. He smacked his dry lips and cracked his neck as he took his morning piss. The fuzziness in his vision finally cleared enough to notice the bright pink box of tampons sitting on top of the toilet. "We're not in Kansas anymore Toto." He muttered to himself as he flushed the toilet and headed towards the promise of a hot meal.

"And tonight I want to lay it at your feet/ 'Cause girl I was made for you/ And girl, you were made for me." Ryan sang loudly and more than a few keys off from Paul Stanley while she shimmed back in forth in front of a frying pan full of sizzling bacon. An old radio, more duct tape than actual radio at this point, blared music near her elbow. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy knot, the long sleeved Foo Fighters shirt she'd slept in was rolled up to her elbows, pajama pants stretched tight over her backside and pooled over ugly yellow duck slippers on her feet. A plate stacked with fluffy pancakes waited on the table along with a pot of fresh coffee.

"KISS sucks," Dean said walking into the kitchen running his fingers through his sleep mussed hair and trying to rub the kinks out of his shoulder.

Ryan spun away from the frying pain with an embarrassed squawk knocking the radio off the counter and into the sink, "Son of a bitch. I didn't think you'd be awake yet." Her cheeks burned red, half from him catching her singing her heart out to the bacon and half because he had just sauntered into the kitchen without a shirt absently scratching a spot on his toned, tanned stomach; the V of his muscles pulling her eyes down to the promised land.

"Mmm bacon," He murmured leaning around her deftly swiping a slice of bacon from the frying pan. She held her spatula in front of her like a protective amulet and tried to refrain from smelling his neck as he pressed against her. Dean smirked. "Bacon's always worth waking up for," He said popping the pilfered nitrite filled pork product into his mouth.

Ryan rolled her eyes and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear turning back towards the frying pan. "KISS doesn't suck. You suck for sneaking up on me." She muttered pushing her sleeves up higher to avoided splatters of bacon grease.

Dean's eyes were drawn to the mismatched bruises covering her bare forearms. He grabbed one arm, gently running his fingers over the scattered bruises. "What the hell Ryan?" He murmured.

"It's nothing…" She answered pulling her hands away from him to scoop the bacon out of the pan before it burned.

"The hell it is. Where else does he hit you?" He demanded.

She snorted, "You want an alphabetical list?" She felt his hands grab the edge of her shirt and pull it up a few inches trying to inspect her back. "Hey god damn it. Back off," She yelled smacking his hands away with her spatula. "It's just bruises. It's nothing permanent." Dean moved toward her like he was going to finish his inspection. "…sit and eat your god damn breakfast, or I'm gonna shove this spatula up your ass." She pushed him toward the table. Dean relented and sat down scowling while Ryan heaped food onto his plate. "You used to make that face when Nan made you play with me." She said sitting across from him.

"She didn't _make _me play with you." He said pouring coffee into their mugs. "I happened to like GI Joes."

Ryan scoffed, "You're so full of shit."

"Hey language!" Dean barked sounding very much like his father.

"You know I'm almost a legal adult and besides, you taught me all those bad words, remember?"

Dean shook his head. "It's just going to take me some time to reconcile that you're not still twelve years old."

"Nope, I'm a big girl. Shave my legs above my knees, traded in my training bra for something with some support, I even got the talk about the birds and the bees from this nice guy I met online." Dean laughed at her sarcasm and slowly the tension from the previous night melted away. Ryan watched quietly as Dean devoured a few mores slices of bacon. "So I made you breakfast. Will you do me a favor now?"

He shoveled an entire pancake into his mouth and nodded. "'gepends." He said around his mouthful of food.

Ryan slid a credit card and cellphone across the table. "Call the internet company for me and give me a ride into town tomorrow." Dean cocked an eyebrow at her then the credit card.

"That's it?"

She splayed her hands, "Thats it. I was gonna sacrifice a virgin and try to raise a demon later but I though you might not be into that."

Dean shook his head, "Anyone ever tell you you're a smart ass?"

She smirked and shook her head. "I guess it's better than being a dumb ass." He didn't refuse so Ryan dialed the number for the internet company and handed him the phone.

Dean shoveled another pancake into his mouth as he waited for an operator to pick up. "Yeah, yeah this is Paul Toryn. I need to pay my bill I'm a bit behind." Dean said in a false deep voice trying to mimic Paul's gruff alcohol burned baritone when the call finally connected. "Yeah the last four of my social is…" He said trailing off and looking at Ryan.

"3468." She whispered back smiling. Dean repeated the number and answered other security questions with Ryans help. "Pay the bill for the next six months. This cards not gonna last long-" She told him.

He nodded, "I want to uh pay the bill in advance if I can. I'm terrible at remembering all these due dates." Another few minutes passed as the operator ran the credit card, Ryan crossed her fingers and prayed that the skimmed card went through. "Fifteen minutes and we'll be up and running, thank you I'll let my daughter know." Dean said hanging up the phone.

Ryan made a happy little squeak and high- fived him, "Score one for the dynamic duo. I gotta a gift for credit card fraud. Nan always said I was a natural grifter. Way better at that then hunting anyways…"

Dean took a long drink of coffee eyeing her over the rim of his mug. "How long have you been hunting? I thought Nan wanted you to stay out." He asked.

She smiled sadly and ran her hands around her own cup of coffee. "Dad took me out for the first time about a week after Nan died. Now it's every few weeks when he gets a hair up his ass or he wants to see if I'll get myself killed. No such luck on that front so far." She said shrugging her shoulders.

"How'd it happen? With Nan? We never got the whole story."

"Stroke…thats what's the coroner said anyways." She said taking a sip of her own coffee. "It happened right there." She pointed her chin to a spot on the kitchen floor. "She started slurring her words, talking gibberish. I though she was possessed… her face did this thing, one side went all funny like it was melting…" She closed her eyes and shuddered at the memory. "Then she collapsed. I called the ambulance but by the time they got here she was already gone."

"Where was your dad?"

Ryan shook her head angrily. "No idea. Took a week but Bobby Singer's the one that finally tracked him down. Dad rolled up to the county children's home where they placed me and grabbed me like nothing had fucking happened. Took me straight to a Baku case."

Dean leaned back in his chair blowing out an annoyed breath and running his hand through his hair. Even his dad avoided Baku's if they could; nasty spirits that fed off pain and fear and could only be killed by an arrow hewn from a Katsura tree, tipped in silver and shot through their heart. Ryan shoved another bite of pancake in to her mouth trying not to stare at the way Dean's muscles flexed whenever he moved. "How'd that go?" He asked completely oblivious to her flushed face.

She swallowed her pancake and chewed her still purplish and swollen bottom lip. "I missed my shot and It broke my wrist…then dad broke my jaw. Told me things were going to change. Nan had coddled me, made me soft. I needed to start pulling my own weight."

"Jesus Christ Ryan," he muttered feeling sick to his stomach.

"Don't do that. Don't fucking pity me. There's a positive to my pathetic little story: I haven't missed a shot since that night." She told him. "And besides getting my jaw wired shut helped me drop twenty pounds."

"Shut up. That's not funny." He said darkly.

"Come on, it's a little funny. I was fat." Ryan said eating a slice of pancake. "Now I'm less fat. But I still enjoy my food because I never know when I'm gonna be back on a liquid diet. Or dead."

"You weren't fat you were just kind of squishy. Sam went through the same phase." Dean said letting his eyes trail over her, "You're definitely not fat now…everyone knows 'fat bottomed girls make the rockin' world go round-" Ryan choked on her next bite of pancake. She coughed and spluttered like an idiot, turning beet red and silently praying to the gods to let the kitchen floor open up and swallow her whole.

Heaven help her for suddenly imaging Deans hands wrapped around her hips. She'd been pissed at him last night, years of pent up anger at being ghosted by her only friends tried to claw its way out of her chest during dinner. If she'd lost her composure or yelled at him at the dinner table her father would have made her suffer. Now she was confused. Dean Winchester was her first crush, her only damn crush if she was going to be true to herself, and she had fallen hard the first time around. She had given up hope of ever seeing him. He wasn't supposed to be here, sitting at her grandmothers dinged up kitchen table talking about how he had taken notice of her change from chubby kid to whatever he saw in her now. And gods she wanted to know what else he thought about her.

For better or worse she couldn't blame Dean entirely for the departure from her life. She knew John was just a few shades less of an abusive prick than her own father. She still remembered Dean's black eyes and the shifty excuses he'd give about how he got them.

'Over the line Dean,' he thought to himself as he quickly stood up and leaned over the table clapping her on the back until she could breathe again. "Relax princess it was a joke." He told her as she took a shaky sip of coffee.

"By the way where is Sammy?" She asked changing the subject away from her when she got her breath back. "I was worried to ask last night in case…you know in case it was something bad."

Dean's eyebrows furrowed as the ghost of hurt passed over his features. "No it's nothing bad. He's ok, hopefully he's great. He's at college. Stanford. Kid got a full academic scholarship. He's gonna be a lawyer." He said ending on a proud note.

Ryan whistled, "Wow good for him. I always had a feeling he'd be the one to escape." She said finishing her coffee and staring across the table at Dean. He had been her ideal everything, the mental image of male perfection when she was growing up. And he didn't disappoint now; his sandy blonde hair had darkened with age, the green of his eyes deeper, the gangly thin teenage body had grown into lithe muscles trained from years of hunting and hard work. She looked down into her empty mug suddenly feeling like her twelve year old love struck self.

"What about you? Why the hell don't you escape?" He asked.

"What do you think that car out front is for? It's taken me almost two years to get her that far; hopefully after I figure out the transmission she'll be good to go."

"I can take a look at it for you. Won't have anything else to do until dad gets back." Dean told her.

"We still have to play Street Fighter so I can kick your ass."

Dean smirked, "You cheat. You just mash the buttons and force me into a corner."

Ryan threw her head back and laughed, "You're still so salty about getting beaten by a girl!" Dean grumbled something under his breath and threw a piece of pancake at her making her laugh harder. "Thanks for helping me with the internet thing. I can try and figure out how to fix the wiring for the porch lights now. Not that it'll make dad happy but at least I can tell myself I tried…."

When they were done with breakfast Dean helped her clear the table and wash the dishes while she dried them and put them away. "You're a great cook by the way. Those were the best meals I've had in a while." He told her when they finished with the dishes.

Ryan blushed. "You're welcome. Dad thinks my food tastes like shit and I'm trying to starve him to death. Maybe if I soaked everything in Vodka he'd like it."

Dean laughed. "I'll get dressed and go take a look at your car."

"Yeah you should definitely get dressed because this," she waived her hands at his naked torso, "This is all very distracting….You're so tall, you were always taller than me but this is ridiculous… I bet you can grow a full beard now instead of that patchy little thing you used have going on-" She ran her hand along his jaw before her brain caught up and she dropped it in an embarrassed flush. She had never had much of a filter when it came to the Winchester boys and apparently age and time apart hadn't fixed that.

Dean laughed and rubbed the stubble along his jaw where she had touched him. "You're kind of distracting yourself. Puberty hit you like a ton of bricks." Dean said then cleared his throat nervously. "I mean you know good bricks...bricks that hit all the right spots." He coughed and cleared his throat again his cheeks turning lite pink making his splash of freckles stand out. "Shut up Dean." He muttered loudly to himself.

Ryan dipped her head and blushed hard. Her puppy dog crush on Dean had come back with a vengeance and she had surprised even herself with her amateur, unpracticed attempt at flirting. But Dean couldn't possibly be flirting back; he was just being Dean the wanna-be ladies man he had been since he turned ten and realized he liked boobs. "I need to get dressed too and try and Bob Villa my way around the wiring outside. But if I die from electrocution you can have my Nirvana CD's."

"I don't want them." Dean told her following her up the stairs and back to their respective rooms.

She snorted laughter again, "Come on 'Bleach' is amazing."

"No 'Led Zeppelin II' is amazing." Dean called over his shoulder as he walked across the hallway towards his room.

"I guess 'The Lemon Song' _is _pretty good." She said thoughtfully after a moment. Dean tripped over his own feet walking into his room when images of her squeezing his lemon suddenly and uninvitedly interrupted his thoughts.

"There is no god damn green wire Bob!" Ryan yelled causing Dean to poke his head out from under the hood of the Charger to see her balanced on a ladder on the porch cursing at the ancient wires and the instructional video playing on her laptop. She growled in frustration while wiping her glasses clean on her shirt and peering at the rats nest of lighting wires she had pulled free. "Is this green? Maybe this used to be green..." She muttered to herself as she prepared to clip it. "Ow! No fuck that's not fucking green! Fuck it!" She screamed when a sharp jolt of electricity shocked her hand. "Fuck this." She yelled throwing her wire splitter into the dirt. Dean laughed under his breath as she angrily scooped up her laptop and pounded down the steps of the ladder. She finished her tantrum with a Xena warrior princess scream and Spartan kick to the ladder sending it flying off the porch into a mangled metal heap at the base of the stairs. She apparently hadn't grown out of her fiery temper, she had been well known to throw video game controllers when she died during the boss battles in Super Ghouls n' Ghosts. He turned his attention back to the transmission and was surprised to see how far Ryan had got in rebuilding it. Excluding a few corroded and easily replaceable pieces she was well on her way to having a drivable car. He made a mental list of the parts he needed and to ask Ryan if there was an auto parts store in town.

He got lost again in the car parts, letting the zen of breathing life back into the classic car wash over him. He dimly heard the screen door slam sometime later and figured Ryan had cooled down enough to attempt to fix the disaster that was the fifty year old electric system running through the home. He was so enthralled trying to degrease the choke on the carburetor he didn't hear the soft crunch of footsteps. "Hey, you wanna go swimming?" Ryan asked leaning against the front bumper.

She startled him and he smacked his head on the propped up hood. "Ouch. Son of a bitch. You can't just sneak up on a guy when he's in the zone!" He grumbled rubbing the new knot on the back of his head. "What do you want?" He asked sounding like his fifteen year old pissy self.

She straightened up, shifting her bundle of towels and sunblock. "I just wanted to see if you want to go swimming. I'm hot and annoyed and I need a break."

Dean shook his head. "I don't have a swimsuit." He said seeing that she had changed into a pair of terry cloth shorts and a loose, slouchy tank top. More scattered bruises, ranging from dark bluish-purple to sickly yellow- green dotted her pale legs and upper arms.

"I don't either. It's the quarry not the French Riviera. Come on," She said stepping away from the car.

"Nah I'll pass." He called to her.

Ryan shrugged her shoulders and kept walking down the trail that led to the lake. "Alright, well if I'm not back by dusk it's because the Nokken got me." She yelled back disappearing around a bend of trees.

"The Nokken's not real!"

"Or is it?" Her disembodied voice echoed eerily back to him.

"It's not real," he muttered turning back to the car. He couldn't remember now which of them had come up with the story of the Nokken, the slimy shape shifting creature that lived in the underwater caves in the lake. Not that any of them were even sure there were underwater caves in the lake but if there were they were the best place for a monster to live. By the end of one extended visit the Nokken has gone from scary story to outright fact as far as they were concerned. Passing stories amongst themselves of seeing shadows in the water and feeling slimy fingers brushing against their legs while they swam that even Dean the oldest and wisest of the trio started to bring a silver knife with them to the lake just in case. He fiddled with the car for another twenty minutes until the hunter in him told him to just go make sure there wasn't a monster hiding in the dark waters of the quarry. "Shit. Dads gonna kick my ass if she get eaten by a lake monster." He muttered to himself wiping his sweaty neck and greasy hands on a shop towel. He grabbed a silver dagger and a pistol loaded with sliver bullets from the cache of weapons hidden in the trunk of the Impala before following the trail to the lake. "I'm just making sure you haven't drowned because there's no such thing as a Nokken!" Dean yelled as he came into view of the small lake. The dark water appeared in a clearing surrounded on one side by a wall of smooth blackish stone and a group of Willow trees that were out of place amongst the ponderosa pines and firs that made up the rest of the forrest. He found Ryan's towel, glasses and bottle of sunblock on a smooth stone ledge near the biggest willow tree, its huge shaggy branches hanging low enough to touch the water. "Ryan?" He yelled at the still lake his voice echoing off the stones and frightening several birds out of their nest. A cluster of bubbles broke through the surface of the lake about twenty feet from the shore. "You aren't being funny." He yelled trying to keep the edge of panic out of his voice. More bubbles appeared before a white piece of fabric slowly floated to the surface. "Ryan!" He yelled louder this time the panic real and sending his instincts into overdrive. He kicked his boots and pants off leaving them in pile before pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it behind him. He held the silver dagger in his teeth Rambo style and ran into the water. When it was deep enough he dove down seeing nothing in the inky blackness. "Ryan!" He screamed for a third time just as something yanked on one of his ankles. He spun around and came face to face with a water demon. Her reddish hair hanging over her face obscuring her features, pale arms outstretched and claw like hands grabbing for him.

"Raaawwwrrr!" The demon snarled before breaking into a cackling fit of giggles. Dean jumped back swinging the knife in front of him as the demon kept laughing and flung her wet hair back. It took him almost 10 seconds to remember to breathe realizing the demon was none other than Ryan. "Holy crap I thought I really was going to drown if I tried to hold my breath any longer. I heard you clomping down the trail…"

"You brat!" Dean yelled. "That is not funny!"

Ryan kept laughing, "You're right it's not funny. It's fucking hilarious! Is that a silver knife? Did you bring a silver knife?"

"No," He said throwing the knife back towards the shore where it landed in the damp earth.

"My big brave hunter came to kill the Nokken and rescue me!" She said giggling and treading water. She stopped laughing when she noticed the dark scowl plastered on his face. "Hey D, it was just a joke. I'm sorry-" She swam towards him tentatively reaching her hand out.

"You're dead." He threatened surging towards her faster than she could react. She screamed in surprise when he grabbed her under the arms threatening to lift her out of the water.

"You can't pick me up! I'm too heavy! Your shoulders still fucked up!" She squealed at him.

He glared down at her for a heartbeat. "Too heavy? I don't need two arms to pick you up sweetheart." He scooped her up with one arm and hip-tossed her into the water. It was Dean's turn to laugh when she came up spluttering a second later. He did that three more times, giving her only a second to catch her breath before he dunked her back in the water.

"Ok…ok…fuck I'm seriously drowning now!" She yelled grabbing onto his arms to stop him from tossing her again. With her tank top now floating somewhere in the middle of the lake her pale torso was bare for him to see. Her bright pink bra stood out in stark contrast to three fresh raised parallel scars wrapping around her right hip and ending just above her belly button.

"What the hell are those from?" He asked pushing through the water towards her.

"What? These? No it's nothing." Ryan answered turning in a circle in the water searching for her shirt. By the time she made a complete circle Dean was in front of her. His hands wrapped around her hips like she had imagined. The warmth from his hands sent a chill up her spine. If he noticed the way her nipples where suddenly trying to cut their way through her thin bra he didn't react; taking her shirt off had been a bad decision she decided.

"The hell these are nothing." He said tracing his fingers along the scars. To Dean this was nothing more than a clinical inspection. He had always been the type of person that needed to touch and feel to understand the world around him. To Ryan this was the first time she had been touched gently by anyone since her Nan had died and the first time ever by a man and it was doing very pleasant things to her. She bit her bottom lip to stop a moan from escaping. "Claws?" He murmured.

"Talons." Ryan clarified her eyes half closed. "Harpies. I thought there were only two. Dads gun jammed and one of them tried to twist his head off like a pop cap while I was taking care of the second one. A third bitch caught me by surprise when I was trying to get back to dad."

"You should've let her kill him." He said trailing his fingers up her ribs until his thumbs came to rest just under the cups of her bra. She couldn't stop the moan when his thumbs traced small circles on her skin just threatening to dip under the fabric. Dean watched her face as he touched her, her breath turning to little pants through parted lips, her long eyelashes fluttering like she was dreaming. He had always known about her little crush on him when they were younger. It had been one of the many reasons he had avoided her. She always sat too close when they played video games, laughed too loudly at his dumb jokes and given him the most pathetic faces when he would tell her to buzz off. He didn't find her quite so annoying anymore. He enjoyed the feel of her skin and the little sounds she was trying to keep inside. "When's your birthday?" He asked quietly.

Her eyes drifted open dazed and she looked up at him. "Mmm...two days."

'Keep your dick in your pants' His fathers words echoed in his head, he let go of her and stepped back running one hand through his wet hair. She was a kid, a lonely, confused kid that had been the living punching bag to a 7-foot tall douche-canoe for the last five years. He wasn't going to ruin this by taking advantage of her because he was bored and angry at his father for leaving him in the middle of nowhere. "Two days huh? Well, what do you want kiddo?"

She tilted her head confused at his sudden distance. Her eyebrows creasing as a bright embarrassed red flared across her chest and up her cheeks. "Kiddo?… Kiddo." She shook her head and repeated the word, it grew more bitter on her tongue each time she said it. Of course that's all she was. He was Sammy's big brother checking on her skinned knee and she was still the tag along that he had been forced to spend time with in this isolated cabin. "What do I want for my birthday? I want my car to start. To run, to be drivable." She said stepping away from him and looking around again for her top. It floated a few feet away and she snatched it out of the water twisting it dry as she headed back to the rocky shore

"I can do that. I need some parts though. Is there an auto shop in town?" He asked as he followed her until the water reached his waist then stopped. Her shorts were nearly translucent now that they were soaking wet and left nothing to the imagination. If he got out of the water he'd have a lot of explaining to do about the tent in the front of his boxers.

"No but there's Mitchell's junk yard. Same place I bought Trixie." She told him wrapping her towel around her hips.

"Trixie?"

"My car. That's her name," She answered. "You gonna stay in the water all night?"

Dean shook his head, "Nah...I'm just gonna swim some laps."

"Swim some laps?" Ryan said rolling her eyes. "I'm going to make dinner... don't let the Nokken get you."

Dean waited another ten minutes in the chilly water waiting for his traitor appendage to relax enough to get his jeans on. "Get your shit together man. She's a kid," He muttered to his groin hoping his downstairs brain took a hint. His upstairs brain took the opportunity to turn traitor and remind him that she wasn't a kid; not anymore. She had grown into a strong, resourceful, funny and yet still annoying young woman. They had always been on unsteady terms as friends mostly because Dean had been older and in the thick of his teenage angst phase with very little patience for his own younger brother let alone a little girl with attachment issues. When he got back to the cabin he decided to use the last few hours of sunlight to work on Trixie. He could start making up for being a shit all those years ago by being a better friend now and getting her what she wanted for her birthday: a drivable car.

He was straining his eyes trying to tighten one last bolt by the time the sun had settled below the tree line. Music drifted from the kitchen and he heard Ryan quietly humming along with a familiar guitar riff. "I'm alive. The Nokken was a no show in case you were wondering," Dean said walking into the kitchen.

Ryan looked up from the pot of spaghetti sauce she was stirring and smiled. "Well that's a relief." The last few bars of 'Heartbreaker' played from the tiny speakers on her laptop. "I found my Zeppelins greatest hits CD. It's been a while since I played it." She said as 'Black Dog' started to play.

"Didn't know you listened to Zeppelin." Dean said peering into the pot Ryan was still stirring. "Is that Nan's Vampire Killer tomato sauce?"

"Yep. I roast my garlic first though." She told him then added, "I went through a phase where I bought a bunch of albums from bands you told me about. Read Tolkien because you told me it was your favorite. Made Nan rent me all of the 'All Saint's Day ' movies…" She went quiet and blushed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear while she checked the boiling pasta.

"Why?" Dean asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I wanted to have more in common with you, you know something to talk about the next time you visited…except I never saw you again."

"That's uhh…"

"Weird…obsessive…pathetic," She let the words hang in the air. "God I don't know why I just told you that."

Dean looked down at her, only the tips of her pink ears visible as she stared intently into the pasta sauce too embarrassed to look at him. "I was going to say sweet. That's the sweetest thing anyones ever done…" She scoffed and blew a piece of hair out of her face.

"Sweet is worse than pathetic." She said finally looking up and meeting his eyes. "I got the Super Nintendo out. It's in the living room if you want to hook it up while I finish dinner. You can have a delicious last meal before I annihilate you."

Dean laughed, "Sweetheart you got another thing coming if you think you're gonna beat me."

Ten minutes later Dean had the game system connected and Ryan carried their bowls of spaghetti into the living room. "The game keeps freezing." Dean grumbled as he hit the reset button for the sixth time.

"Did you blow on it?" She asked setting their dinner down on the coffee table behind them and sitting crossed legged on the floor next to Dean in front of the old TV. Dean gave an annoyed sigh, he had indeed forgot that very important, unskippable step before attempting to start the game. He removed the cartridge from the system and blew on the chip. Proper steps followed the game loaded and the familiar into music started and 32-bit brightly colored martial artists filled the TV screen. They sat for hours like they had when they were kids, knee to knee, three feet from the TV, completely engrossed in the game only pausing long enough to finish their spaghetti and talk trash to each other.

"You can't use Chun Li all the time." Dean grumbled after Ryan beat him for the thirteenth time in a row.

"Do you want me to _let_ you win the next round? Will that help your fragile man-child ego? Here I'll start the game and walk away and you can pound me into submission while I do the dishes." Ryan snarked gathering up their empty bowls.

Dean stood and stretched trying to get feeling back into his numb butt. "Nah I'm gonna call it a night. I'll make breakfast in the morning."

"We're all out of Captain Crunch aka Dean Winchester special." She said walking into the kitchen.

"Hey I can cook!" Dean said. "Just wait I'm going to make you the best breakfast you've ever had. You're gonna fall in love with me."

She turned and gave him a half smile. "We'll see."

Authors note: So I was planning on this being relatively short, like 3 chapters. I don't see that happening. This is going to be a little longer. I'm liking this story and I want to drag it out a bit. Please read and review and thank you to the people following Bittersweet.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning Ryan woke up later than usual. She eyed Deans closed door across the hallway and figured he had over slept his promise to make her breakfast. She staggered to the kitchen desperately in need of a cup of liquid motivation to get her day started and was surprised to find Dean in the kitchen tossing salt on an omelette and singing along with Stevie Nicks croning "Seventeen" from her newly re-duct taped radio. "Mornin' sunshine." He said as she slid into her usual seat at the kitchen table. He was already freshly showered and fully dressed this morning.

"Morning." She replied yawning loudly and rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands before slipping her glasses on.

"Coffee?" Dean asked. She nodded and yawned again. "You stay up late chatting with your boyfriend?" He asked sliding a cup of coffee towards her.

She rolled her eyes and took a long drink of coffee, perking up as soon as the caffeine hit her tastebuds. "Yeah that's me; super popular with all the boys," She said sarcastically as she set her cup down.

"Don't go out a lot?" He asked sliding their omelets onto plates and grabbing a few slices of toast for each of them.

She scoffed under her breath as she took another sip of coffee. "I've never even been on _a _date."

"Never? Not even one?" He asked.

Ryan shook her head, "I have nothing in common with those mouth-breathing townies; they go mudding and aspire to work at the meat packing plant so they can afford a double-wide. I dig up graves and kill monsters." She paused and took another sip of coffee.

"You save people." Dean told her.

"You and your dad save people. I save my dad from getting killed…"

"You're dads a person. Technically." Dean said smiling.

She tilted her head as if to say that were true to an extent. "Just had dreams that kept me up..." She said as Dean sat down next to her and placed her plate in front of her.

He nodded, "Its all the garlic you put in the spaghetti sauce. It gave me some...weird dreams also."

"You used to love garlic." Ryan smiled and took a bite of the omelette Dean had made. "Oh … this is fantastic."

"Told you I can cook." He said smiling cockily. "You fallin' in love yet?"

She looked down, pushing her glasses back up her nose and shrugged to hide her blush. "Could've used more pepper."

"Brat." Dean muttered starting in on his own omelette and bumping his leg into hers playfully.

"So, what did you dream of?" She asked with her mouth half full of eggs.

"I dreamt a Godzilla-sized Chun-Li was chasing me down the streets of Hong Kong yelling 'Yatta!' every time she clobbered through a building." He said shaking his head and making Ryan laugh.

"I guess getting your ass kicked a couple dozen times by a 32-bit Chinese Warrior woman would give anyone nightmares." Ryan told him. Her bare leg brushed against him again as she leaned forward to grab a slice of toast.

He nodded and took another bite trying to keep his hands and mouth busy so wouldn't tell her about his other dream. The dream that woke him before dawn drenched in sweat and with an erection demanding attention; the dream of them in the water.

In his dream her Barbie-pink bra was gone, his imagination filling in all the parts she hadn't shown him, his hands felt every inch of her skin and she didn't bite her lips to keep the little sounds of pleasure from escaping. In his dream she cried out his name when he wrapped her legs around his hips and pushed inside her. He lost himself in the feel of her inner muscles fitting him like a glove and at the moment of her ecstasy, head thrown back, nails digging red marks in his skin he had woke with a grunt, confused and more than a little miffed he wasn't actually inside of her feeling her climax. His traitor appendage lay painfully hard against his stomach and no matter how much humming or six degrees of Kevin Bacon he played in his head his god damn dick wouldn't cooperate.

He had tip toed, or more accurately, uncomfortably hobbled to the shower where he took care of himself. His imagination again getting the best of him when he took himself in hand using Ryan's jasmine scented body wash as lube. He had almost tricked himself into believing the hot water running through his fingers were her lips wrapped around his cock. When he came it was painful, his abdomen cramping, balls drawing up tight against his body with the force of his release. He chalked it up to months of pent up frustrations. He hadn't touched a girl, let alone himself, since Sam had run off; a self imposed penance of abstinence for leaving Sam alone in the first place so he could get laid. When he was finished he had a weight of guilt hanging around his neck. He shouldn't be dreaming of fucking Ryan or jerking off to that dream in the shower. They'd grown up together; he still remembered the cake Nan had baked for her seventh birthday for shits sake. It was Carebears and Ryan had been upset when Nan brought out the pink Friendship Bear Cake instead of the blue frosted Grumpy Bear she had asked for.

Ryan's voice broke through his trance. "Ground control to Major Tom-" She said waving her fork in front of his face.

He blinked several times and ran his hand over his mouth. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably aware his hard on had come back. He moved away form her, turning his lower body so their legs were no longer touching under the table. "Yeah sorry guess I'm more tired than I thought." He said finishing his coffee. He felt like he needed to jerk off at least another half dozen times, clear his pipes and his head; Keep himself in control not his dick.

Ryan gave him a concerned look noting his flushed face and the beads of sweat on his forehead. "You didn't drink any of the lake water did you?" She asked him running a hand along his forehead like Nan had done when she thought they had a fever. Dean closed his eyes against her soft touch and shook his head. Her fingers drifted down the side of his face until her hand cupped his jaw. "I had fun last night kicking your ass like old times…we don't have to go into town today. We could go swimming again or just stay in…"

"No. I told you I'd take you. I'm getting stir crazy anyways. I need to get out of here," he replied. What he meant was he needed to get out of the cabin and put some space between them if only for a few hours. He turned his head away from her and took a drink of coffee to avoid looking at her.

"You've been here two days and you're already getting stir crazy?" She asked with only a hint of hurt in her voice as she dropped her hand to her lap.

Dean shrugged, "I just need some fresh air."

Ryan nodded, "Yeah. That's hard to come by out here." She put her fork down suddenly no longer hungry. "Thanks for breakfast. I'm going to take a shower and get dressed." She said standing up and pushing away from the table.

"Hey, no fair. You didn't tell me what you dreamed of," Dean called to her as she reached for the swinging door to leave the kitchen.

"Shit," She thought. She had forgotten she was the one that had started the dream conversation. "Wh-What?" She asked turning back around.

"The bad dreams that kept you up? I told you about Chun-Zilla." He said gathering up their dirty plates.

Ryan tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as her mind blanked on everything except the dream that woke her with wet panties and an unfulfilled ache between her legs. The feeling of Dean's semi-hard cock bumping into her belly under the water while his calloused fingers traced the scars wrapping around her rib cage were seared into her memory. Her over active imagination had created all sorts of naughty, leg shaking dreams that kept her mind restless and touch starved body wound up and on edge all night. Dean watched her eyes dart shyly around the kitchen as she shifted on her feet (ugly yellow duck slippers back in situ) and pushed her glasses back up her nose. "I never said they were bad dreams." She finally said meeting his eyes. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, as her cheeks turned a warm pink. She pulled nervously on the hem of her sleep shirt like he might be able to tell she suddenly needed another pair of dry panties.

Dean's mouth went dry, his tongue thick and useless as he tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. "Yeah?" He croaked.

"Yeah...I..uh I need a shower." She said before turning and leaving Dean alone to interpret that little exchange.

"Son of a bitch…son of a bitch…I could just get in the car and drive away…drive to Wyoming. Meet dad and Paul, tell'em I couldn't deal with her. She's a pain in my ass…" Dean had muttered the plan to himself a dozen times while he'd washed the dishes. Willing his mind to focus on the task at hand and not stray into the dangerous territory of what might or might not be happening in the shower upstairs. By the time he put the last pan away and walked slowly up the stairs to his room, he had a fully formed plan and air tight excuse to give Ryan for his sudden departure. He'd tell her his father had missed their scheduled check in and he had to leave to track him down. She couldn't argue with that and he'd refuse to take her if she asked to come. "Ryan, hey I gotta go," He called to the closed bathroom door.

She opened it a moment later, running a towel through her damp hair and her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. "Wha-? You gotta pee?" She asked, turning back around to spit in the sink. Her long shirt rode up high on the back of her legs, giving him a tortuous view of her black boy-short underwear. Dean was proud of himself for covering his groan with a fake cough. "It's all yours." She said wiping toothpaste off her mouth and brushing past him towards her bedroom.

"No, no. Ry, I gotta go." He said watching as she picked a pair of dark black jeans out of her closet and shimmied into them.

"D, let me fill in my eyebrows and put some mascara on before we go into town-" She said sitting down at her mirror and picking up her little tube of mascara.

He stood in the doorway to her room, not wanting to trespass even though he'd already snooped through her things. One hand gripped the doorframe hard enough to turn his knuckles white. "You're not understanding me. I need to go…now. Dad hasn't checked in, he's not answering his phone and we got a system. He could be in trouble-"

She turned away from the mirror to look him in the face. "What are you saying? You're leaving? I need a ride…I have something waiting at the postoffice and my car….you were gonna help me fix it." She sounded disappointed but reserved, like she'd expected this and had just been waiting for his excuse to leave.

Dean cleared his throat and avoided her eyes, staring at the "All Saint's Day 4: Hatchet Man Lives" poster she had tacked above her bed. "Yeah…look I'm sorry…but my dad…"

"Yeah. Ok. Forget it...," she said turning back to the mirror.

"Maybe Mr. Johnson can give you a ride into town? His place is only a few miles from here-"

Ryan went back to applying her little bit of makeup, "Mr. Johnson died two summers ago. Turned into a pissed off, vengeful bastard of a spirit until I salted and burned his god damn wedding album…who puts hair in a wedding album?." She paused with a tired sigh. "Don't worry about it. I'll figure something out. You should get going, if your dads in trouble then for sure mine is too. Let me know what you find out." She said looking at his reflection in her mirror. "See you around."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, brat. See ya around." He turned away from her room hating himself just a little bit more. She would be ok, she had been so far. She could figure out the car on her own and then figure out what her next step was. He almost made it the dozen steps across the hall to his room before his cell rang loudly in his pocket. The noise was so unexpected he almost fumbled the phone onto the wood floor. John's caller ID buzzed across the screen and he debated with himself whether to answer it or not. He could always call him back and tell his father he had simply not heard the phone. Then again John had a sixth sense to know when his sons where lying even if it was over the phone. "Hey dad, everything good?" He asked answering the call.

"Yeah, Dean. We're good. Look this trip is going to take a bit longer than I thought-" John replied. Dean could hear what sounded like a muffled TV in the background and Paul's drunk laughter.

"God damn it," Dean thought rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Werewolves giving you trouble?"

"They left town before we could catch up. We're still trying to track 'em. Then we got a couple other cases lined up." John related he and Paul had a half dozen potential cases to follow up. By the sound of his fathers itinerary it would be at least another two weeks until they returned.

"Dad, my shoulders 100%. Let me take that salt and burn off your hands. Then we can meet half way in Colorado, Paul can circle back and pick up Ryan…" Dean said trying to keep the edge of desperation out of his voice.

"No. You stay put. Stay out of trouble. I'll check in every 48, you don't hear from my by the 72 hour mark call Bobby." He replied gruffly.

Dean sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I know the drill, dad."

"Alright then. Quit bitching and make sure to put a coat of wax on the car so she doesn't rust." John said before hanging up.

"God damn it," he muttered shaking his head angrily. He tossed his phone onto his bed and ran his hands through his hair. His shoulder twinged angrily at the movement as if reminding him he wasn't suited for a hunt quite yet. He turned around blowing out an annoyed breath and saw Ryan leaning against her doorframe.

She gave him a small smile, "Everything ok?"

"Duke and Dr. Gonzo are on a fucking bender and now I'm stuck here for the foreseeable fucking future." He groaned scrubbing his hands along his jaw.

Ryan nodded. "I figured that was going to happen. Sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" He asked.

She looked down at her nails, avoiding his eyes. "You're stuck here…with me."

"Could be worse; I could be stuck with them." Dean told her. She looked up, a real smile pulling at the corner of her lips. "You gonna go into town with only one eyebrow?" She cursed under her breath, she had stopped half way through filling in her pale eyebrows when Dean got the phone call from his father, and ran back to her mirror.

Once her eyebrows matched, Ryan grabbed her keyring and the list of groceries she needed. "You think your dad's ever gonna give you this baby?" She asked as Dean barreled through the twenty mile drive into town.

"Hmmm Baby's a good name for her. Not as good as Trixie but nah. Dad just lets me take her out and shown her a good time once in while," Dean told her patting the steering wheel affectionately. "And I have shown her some good times. That backseats gotten me into a lot of trouble over the years."

Ryan blushed and squirmed in her seat refusing to look over her shoulder. "The uhm... The junk yard is a right off Kiowa and up about a mile."

Dean followed her directions and drove them towards the junkyard. "So did your dad help you get Trixie home?"

She laughed, "Yeah right. I drove her home. Old man Mitchell sold me Trixie for $500 granted I could drive her off the lot myself."

"How'd the hell you manage that?"

"I prayed to God. To all the Angels I could think of to just give me this one thing," she told him as Dean steered the car through the pothole marred road into the junkyard. "And she started, as soon as I turned the key. The sound of her engine growling was like Angels singing. She made it home, well all the way to the gate and I had to push her the rest of the way. She hasn't run since... dad keeps saying he's gonna burn her if I don't get her fixed."

"I'll have her running by tomorrow. Then you can take me for a ride somewhere." Dean said as he parked the car.

"There's a carnival over in Whitehall through the end of next week. I heard they've got a pretty legit haunted house." Ryan told him as they wandered up and down the piles of junked cars and spare parts. Dean nodded noncommittally as he occasionally stopped and searched for what he needed until they had a small collection of pieces that they carried to the shack Mitchell used for business. $50 later and Dean was fairly certain he had everything he needed to finish the repairs on Trixie. If he ended up not having anything better to do he could even sand her down and apply a fresh coat of paint in Ryan's choice of color before their fathers got back.

They drove the rest of the way into town discussing the repairs Dean was going to make. "I didn't realize the carburetor was so messed up too." Ryan said. "I really don't know shit about cars. I've just been stumbling through the steps…"

"You've done a really great job. And the carburetor probably wouldn't have caused you any problems for a while but I don't want to worry about it blowing out on you if you gotta make a quick get away." He replied as they pulled up to the tiny Rader Creek post office. Ryan fished her keys out of her pocket and pulled a thick stack of mail from the mailbox and handed it to Dean. He could see several items marked 'Urgent' and 'Last Notice' in the pile. She chose another key off the ring and unlocked a second much smaller P.O. Box. "You got a box the bill collectors don't know about?" He asked as she retrieved a single thick manilla envelope.

"This ones mine and dad doesn't know about it. So if we could keep this between the Dynamic Duo I'd appreciate it." She replied tucking the envelope under her arm as they left the post office. Dean dumped his pile of mail onto the middle of the seat between them as the climbed into the car.

"Oh...Bobby thank you." She murmured opening the envelope and taking the items out. She dropped a few new fake ID's, a passport, a birth certificate, a new cell phone and finally a thick wad of cash into her lap.

"What is all that crap?" Dean asked as she inspected her new drivers license.

"Birthday gifts from Bobby." She answered. "I bought my fake ID in an alley outside of Tampa a few years ago. It's some fifty year old Korean ladies picture. If it's dark and you squint… it still looks like a fifty year old Korean lady. I need an upgrade." She said tucking the items into the small bag at her feet.

Dean laughed, "You mean you can't use it to buy beer ?"

"I can't buy us beer with my new one either. 250 people live in this shitty town and every one of them knows exactly how old I am." She said as he pulled the Impala into a parking spot in front of the small market. They walked past a couple of teenagers sharing drinks out of something wrapped in a brown paper bag. Ryan ignored them as the boys muttered something sounding faintly like 'Reject' and sniggered into their stolen bottle.

He felt Ryan stiffen next to him as he paused with his hand on the door and turned to face them. "What was that Beavis?" he growled at the zitty-faced blonde kid.

"Mouth-breathing townies, D. They aren't worth it." Ryan said quietly. Dean took a half step toward them and the boys stopped laughing when they saw the dangerous look on his face. Beavis shrugged and took a long drink from the paper bag looking to his friend to save him.

Butt-head laughed nervously, "Nothing….we didn't say nothin'."

"Yeah. That's what I thought." Dean muttered. "Where's the Cap'n Crunch?" He asked Ryan as they pushed through the grimy glass doors into the store.

"Aisle 4," she called to him picking up a basket and heading to the items she needed.

"Ryan, you better have cash girl! Your daddy's tab is frozen and I don't care what sob story you got today!" A lady sitting on a stool behind one of the cash registers yelled at Ryan as she walked past. Dean looked over his shoulder at her as she stood in front of the older woman nervously pushing her glasses back into place.

"I got money Pauline. Dad's tab is his problem," she replied.

A bottle blonde at the next register laughed and popped a bubble of chewing gum. "She said cash, Reject. Not food stamps."

Ryan sneered at the blonde as she walked past, "Choke on a dick Mandy."

"We good?" Dean asked tossing a couple boxes of Cap'n Crunch into her basket as she walked past.

She nodded, "Small town bullshit. We're good."

The blonde at the register popped another bubble drawing Deans attention. She gave him a flirty smile and he was surprised he hadn't noticed her when they walked in. Blonde, big tits, pouty mouth that would look amazing with his dick in it. She stepped away from the register and slinked down the next aisle. Dean quickly checked over his shoulder watching as Ryan disappeared around the corner grabbing items as she went. He turned and headed the way the blonde had gone. He found her bent over tucking cans onto the bottom shelf and giving him ample view of her narrow ass. It definitely wasn't the type of ass Freddie Mercury sang about but it would do. He needed to clear his head and she seemed like a good enough candidate. "Hi can I help you?" She asked straightening up and giving him another flirty smile.

"Just need a can of green beans," he told her. She smiled and bent over, reaching to the bottom shelf retrieving a can for him. "Thanks..."

"Mandy." She replied tapping one red acrylic fingernail on the plastic name tag pinned on the blue apron over her chest. "And you are?"

"Dean." He smiled taking the can out of her hand.

"You're with Reject...I mean Ryan."

He shook his head his smile faltering as she used the word reject again, "I'm just stayin' at her cabin for a while. Our dads are hunting pheasant in Wyoming."

Mandy took a step closer to him, "So you're babysitting?"

"Nah. We're friends, grew up together. I'd be out with our dads but I hurt my shoulder about a week ago-" Dean said rolling his shoulder as if to emphasize the injury.

"Oh poor baby-" Mandy cooed reaching out to massage his shoulder. Dean smirked, hook, line and sinker. He could probably suggest they go to the stock room for a quickie and she'd be bouncing on his dick before she got her blue apron off. Someone loudly cleared their throat behind them and Mandy plastered a wide smile on her face that ended well below her eyes. Dean looked over his shoulder to find Ryan starring daggers at the blonde in front of him. "So Dean, has anyone offered to show you Indian Rock yet?" Mandy asked turning her attention back to him. He was sure he heard Ryan growl as he turned away from her.

"No. Never been there." He answered.

Mandy smiled running her tongue over her bottom lip. "It's beautiful. Few miles outside of town. Nice, quiet, secluded... I'm off at 4. You should pick me up, I'd love to show you around."

"Sounds good. I gotta take the kid home first-" Dean told her.

"Wow, D, you should feel honored you were just asked out by royalty. Mandy MacPherson the blowjob queen of Rader Creek." Ryan said, scathingly giving the other woman a small curtsy .

Mandy's smile grew wider and she looked over Deans shoulder to Ryan. "Oh...Reject I forgot you were there. Still having nightmares?" Dean shot a look over his shoulder, he'd unwittingly wandered into dangerous territory as the girls wound up to volley insults. Ryan scoffed. "What was it- ninth grade English lit? You fell asleep in class and woke up screaming about werewolves?"

The corner of Ryan's lip twitched, that little incident had been the beginning of her very quick descent into town castoff. "Must've been ... you were supposed to be in Senior English but got held back, right?" Ryan said.

"I was the T.A." Mandy said to Dean.

"Sure you were." Ryan muttered before turning to Dean, "I'm done shopping. I'll meet you in the car when you're done with whatever this is..." She grabbed the can of green beans out of his hand before walking towards the cash register. She paid cash as stipulated and left the market in a rush. Dean watched her through the dirty glass doors as she flipped off the two boys still hanging out by the entrance before climbing back into the Impala.

He returned to the car a few minutes later with a couple of six packs tucked under his arm. "The health department let Golden Gate open back up. How about we get some of their nasty fried rice and egg foo young with extra gravy and have a shitty-80s-horror movie marathon?" Ryan asked as he started the car.

Dean ran his hands along the steering wheel and cleared his throat, "Sorry, kid I kind of made plans with Mandy."

Ryan sat back heavily in the seat and let out a disdainful breath. "I'm not a fucking kid, Dean. Are you really gonna fuck Mandy-fucking- MacPherson?"

"I didn't say that. She just offered to show me around-"

"She offered to take you to Indian Rock. That's the only reason people go up there."

"Sounds like you know from experience." Dean said as he rolled through the one stop sign in town.

Ryan made another annoyed sound under her breath. "Like I'd give my V- card to one of these backwater assclowns at Indain Rock. What a fucking cliche that would be." She muttered angrily.

"What'd you say?" He asked looking at her. She turned away from him and stared out the passenger window as the paved streets disappeared into her familiar winding dirt roads.

"Why her? Is that the kind of girl you're into? Big tits and an empty head?"

"It'll do in a pinch."

"Is that what this is? A pinch?" She asked.

"You could've offered to show me Indian Rock."

"Don't make fun of me. I'm not a stupid little girl anymore, I get how things work. Trust me."

"You jealous then?" Dean asked one eyebrow raised cockily. He wanted her to be jealous. He wanted to know how far her feelings for him went.

She shook her head and turned to face him. "Am I jealous of the bitch that made my life a living hell 4th through 10th grade? That got basically an entire town to call me Reject instead of my name? Hardly. Maybe I'm just jealous that you'd prefer screwing someone like that instead of hanging out with me."

"I don't want to play fucking video games or go swimming," he said harshly.

"What do you want then?" She yelled back.

"You're a fucking kid! You don't get it!" He slammed his hand on the steering wheel like his father had done and she jumped in her seat, pressing herself against the door, her hand grasping the handle like she planed to tuck and roll if he struck her. "Fuck Ryan…I didn't mean…I would never…." He let out a deep breath and ran one hand through his hair. "I'll be back later. We can work on your car all day tomorrow. Get drunk as long as you don't tell our dads, play Kirby-it'll be the best birthday ever."

"Thanks but I can figure out the rest of the repairs on my own. I remember your instructions." She said quietly staring out of the passenger window at the passing trees, her hand never leaving the door grasping it like an ejector switch, ready to bail if things went any further south. "Have fun with Mandy."

They finally reached the Toryn's private turn off and Dean steered them down the uneven dirt road. He ground his jaw wanting to take back the outburst that scared her. She had asked him what he wanted and he was being too much of a chicken shit to tell her. He wanted to watch her dance in the kitchen while she sang quietly to whatever she decided to make them for dinner. He wanted to swim with her in the quarry, to hear her talk smack while she beat the snot out of him in some stupid video game, and god he wanted to see her hunt. See how she would handle herself when she didn't have to worry about her drunk father getting in the way. He wanted to take her clothes off, feel her underneath him and taste her. And that was the problem. The moment he did that, the moment she let him and begged him for more it would be all over for both of them. There would be no going back to an awkward friendship, to leaving her here to deal with her abusive father on her own, or leaving her at all once his father came back and started barking orders. He wanted to tell her that he needed to get away before he made a mistake they couldn't come back from. There was no way this wouldn't end with her hating him more than she did the night he dropped back into her life.

He stopped the car and she all but jumped out, grabbing her bags of groceries as she went and storming up the stairs into the cabin. "Smooth move jackass," he muttered angrily to himself as he unloaded the car parts they had picked up. He grabbed one of the six-packs from the backseat, leaving the other to share with his date later. Ryan was in the kitchen stuffing items into cabinets when he pushed through the swinging door. "Maybe…maybe we could have a 'Sleepaway Camp' marathon later. I always loved those…" Dean said as Ryan angrily slammed a cabinet closed behind him.

She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and looked at him with red rimmed eyes. She felt stupid for getting so upset. He could do what he wanted with who ever he wanted even if it was with Mandy-fucking-MacPherson. "Yeah I'll see if I can track 'em down. You should go. It'd be rude to keep the Queen waiting." She said crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the kitchen counter. Dean tucked his hands in his pockets looking down at the kitchen floor and the invisible line she'd just drawn. He could feel the walls she was already putting back up between them and part of him was glad for it. Maybe she would retreat to the promise she made about staying out of each other's way.

"Yeah maybe I could just..." He started lamely.

"I'm gonna get some work done on my car before it gets dark." She said pushing off from the counter and waking past him through the swinging door. He stood in the empty kitchen for another few minutes debating whether he should blow off the blonde cashier and crawl under the hood with Ryan. He chose the safest option and headed back towards his car swinging the keys around his finger as he went. He glanced at Ryan as she stooped deep into the car screwing something into place. "The tires are bald...we should go get you a new set." Dean said stopping in front of her car.

"I bought four in Biloxi a few weeks ago. They're in the shed," She said not looking up.

"Ok..well alright then." He said turning towards his car. He watched her in the rear view mirror as she straightened up and angrily flung her wrench into the dirt as he drove away.

He made it back to the market parking lot five minutes before Mandy was supposed to be off work. He turned his music up, drummed out a beat on the steering wheel to pass time, checked the glove box for his stash of condoms, and chewed a breath mint as the minutes ticked down. Mandy appeared through a side employee exit and slowly walked towards him and his waiting car. He jumped out and hustled to the passenger door, opening it for her as she sauntered up to him. She had changed out of her semi-demure work outfit and into a tight low cut top and jean skirt that barely covered the bottom of her ass. She popped a bright pink bubble, smacking her gum obnoxiously as she smiled at him. "What an awesome car. I've always wanted a ride in a Mustang." She said sliding into the seat.

"She's an Impala... you know what? Doesn't matter." Dean muttered shutting the door. He watched as Mandy turned the rear view mirror to check her makeup before he climbed back into the drivers seat. "So….you want to go for a drive?" He asked as he started the car.

She blew another bubble and Dean flinched as the sticky pink glob popped. "Yeah Indian Rock is beautiful this time of day. Take Main route 5 until the turn off..." She said giving him directions to the towns secluded but very well known hook-up spot.

"You like music?" Dean asked after a few moments of awkward silence. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans, he felt a vague sense of nausea as they drove away from town and the opposite direction of Ryan's cabin. He was usually better at making pointless small talk until he got undressed and down to business. He turned the volume on the radio up a few notches until the Black Sabbath album Ryan had picked out earlier was audible.

Mandy licked her bottom lip, "Metallica is fine. "

He nodded, he could work with Metallica. "Under the seat there are some tapes. I got a few Metallica albums."

"This ones fine." She answered as 'Paranoid' started.

Dean laughed. "This is Black Sabbath-"

"I don't actually care." She chewed loudly, her gum making wet smacking sounds in her mouth. He wondered why he had thought he wanted that monstrosity of an orifice anywhere near him. "So how do you know Ryan?" She asked rolling the window down and finally tossing the hot pink gum out as he followed the old signs for the turn out.

"We grew up together. Our fathers are hunting buddies." He answered."How do you know her?"

Mandy smirked. "Small town. Everybody knows everybody else. And everybody knows the freaky-ass Toryn family. Ryan's shit-drunk daddy rolls into town just often enough to cause a ruckus and spend a night in the tank, her crazy grandma everyone thought was a witch and Ryan the Reject...weirdo loner. She used to walk around school mumbling things in Portugese." She laughed under breath.

"Latin. She speaks Latin. It's kind of a job requirement." Dean told her.

"What job?"

Dean cleared his throat, "Family business…our families are in the same business."

Mandy rolled her eyes. "The only business her family is in is writing bad checks…" she said popping another piece of bubblegum in her mouth, "This'll do. No one will bother us here."

"Wow thats a really nice view." Dean said parking the car as the multicolored stone face came into view. The jagged edges and rustic hues of reds, purples and browns almost formed the face of an old man if you looked at it from the right angle.

Mandy hummed. "I gotta better view." She said silkily running her manicured nails down the buttons of her shirt. They popped open giving Dean the perfect view of her black push-up bra.

"That's...also very nice." He mumbled. She slid the shirt down her arms and crawled across the seat towards him and into his lap. Her jean skirt riding up as she rubbed herself against his crotch.

"I'm gonna ride you all night cowboy." She said dipping her head down to meet his lips. He finally broke away from her lips, trying to gulp in air that didn't smell like her sickly sweet bubble gum or cheap perfume.

"Cowboy?" He asked as she moved her lips to his neck, sucking the tender skin almost painfully. He adjusted his hips and Mandy took that as an invitation to grind against him again, if she kept up the pace he was going to have a wicked case of chaffing on his dick.

Her hands went to his fly yanking the zipper down with practiced ease. "Mmm...yeah you know Cowboy because you drive a Mustang."

"I drive a Chevy Impala." Dean gasped as her hand delved into his boxers and wrapped around him.

"I don't care." She murmured kissing him again. Her hand squeezed up and down his length, trying to coax the traitor between his legs to cooperate. "Are you not into this or what?" She asked sitting back against the steering wheel. Dean smiled nervously, he actually was not into this. Not at all. And it had taken a long drive into the middle of nowhere with a chick he honestly couldn't stand to realize he'd made a huge mistake.

By the time they'd made it back to town and Mandy gave him very clear directions on what he could do with his limp dick and shitty car the Chinese restaurant was closed. He couldn't even provide a peace offering of greasy egg rolls to Ryan when he slunk back with his tail between his legs. The cabin was dark when he returned. The front door locked. Dean cursed under his breath, prepared to sleep in the backseat, when the door was flung open. Ryan leaned against the entry way her hands crossed over her chest. "Back so early Winchester?" She asked.

Dean tucked his hands back into his pockets. "The view sucked."

"Did you fuck her?"

He shook his head secretly happy she'd been stewing about that for hours, "Big tits and an empty head aren't really my thing."

Ryan nodded and inspected her nails trying to hide a smirk. "The lug nuts on my tires are stuck." She said.

"Consider them taken care of." He told her. She nodded, dropping her arms and stepping away from the door. The truce had been redrawn and she wordlessly reinvitied him back into her home. "Do you like bubble gum?" He asked turning towards her.

"I fucking hate bubble gum." She said locking the door behind him.

"What about Mustangs? You got a thing for a Mustangs?" He asked as they climbed the stairs back to their room.

She laughed, "I though it was kind of obvious I have a thing for Chargers. I mean Impalas aren't bad either as far as Chevy's go."

'I know you know the difference between Black Sabbath and Metallica-"

"Goodnight, Dean." She said once again closing her bedroom door in his face.


	4. Bittersweet Ch4

Ch4

Waking up on the morning of her 18th birthday was pretty much the same as waking up on any other day. Except today Ryan was an adult. She could technically come and go as she pleased with the going part being the most important. No one could stop her or tell her she had to come back to this hell when she left for good this time.

She had repacked her duffel bag last night, cramming the majority of her clothes and important things into it. Her bag and a milk crate jammed with books, weapons, one of Nans small quilts, and a family photo album sat ready by her door. She had started most of the car repairs Dean had suggested last night and topped off all the important fluids and gas. She struggled for over an hour to loosen the stupid lug nuts to change out the old tires before giving up out of sheer frustration. Now she simply had to wait for Dean to finish the few hopefully minor repairs and change the tires like he promised. She had everything she needed to leave this life behind thanks to Bobby and the final helping touches from Dean, whether he knew it or not yet.

She wasn't worried about her father coming after her. She knew he wouldn't come looking for her because he never had the other three times she had run away. It had been the cops that caught her sleeping at a bus stop the first time, the second time she was picked up in a stolen car half way to Bobby's and the last time a noisy motel manager had turned her in to child protective services. Each time her father had come to round her up the beatings had gotten worse. He had hit her hard enough to knock her unconscious for two days after the last time she ran. That had been a few months before her fifteenth birthday. She started saving for Trixie soon after.

Ryan heard Deans door open across the hall and his heavy steps as he moved down the stairs and then out the front door. She was still angry at him for the stunt he pulled with Mandy but self aware enough to know he hadn't meant to hurt her. He simply didn't see her as anything other than the loser girl from his childhood. She would be away from him soon enough and the stupid insecure feelings his presence dredged up. She could take the assholes in town calling her 'Reject' but if Dean dismissed her as 'kid' one more time she might lose her cool. She'd done it yesterday when he had teased her and ignored her irritated objection to hooking-up with the blonde she-bitch. And Dean had responded with an angry outburst that frightened her to her core.

Fear had become an ingrained response. When her father got loud and angry it ended in one of two ways: if she was lucky she got away with only verbal assaults until he passed out but she wasn't lucky very often and it usually ended with a physical attack that left her bruised and hurting for days. With Dean she still want sure how far that pendulum would swing, she wanted to believe it would not go any further than a raised voice but it was safer to stay back and reserved if she could manage it. She watched through her window as he went to work jacking up the car so he could change the first tire. He had his long sleeve flannel shirt tied around his waist and his plain black T-shirt clung to his chest in the all the right places. "Suck it Mandy-fucking-MacPherson." She muttered under her breath as she turned away from the window. She needed coffee and food of some sort. A bowl or two of Cap'n Crunch sounded like the perfect birthday breakfast she thought to herself as she left her room.

As the coffee percolated she poured a bowl of cereal for herself and Dean. An antsy, anticipatory chill started at the bottom of her spine; she wanted out of the cabin, out of Montana and as far away from her father as she could get as soon as she could get there.

"Son of a bitch! Come on!" Dean grumbled pushing against the socket wrench and the stubborn lug nut. The bolt loosened and Dean nearly lost his balance from the sudden give.

"How's it going ?" Ryan asked backing out of the screen door balancing the cups of coffee and bowls of sugary cereal in her arms.

"Great...everything's great. Almost there as long as nothing else is too rusted." He said standing up and brushing his hands off. Ryan carried their breakfast to the hood of the Impala and slid onto it handing Dean his bowl of cereal when he followed her over. "Happy Birthday, brat." He said taking a bite of cereal. "What's the plan for today's festivities?"

She shook her head, "No plans. I haven't really celebrated my birthday since Nan died."

"Well that changes today." He told her. Ryan nodded finishing her coffee in one long swallow. She'd have to tell him what her plan was once he finished with the car. Then she could get out of his way and they could both go on with their lives. Dean finished his breakfast and Ryan retreated to the house. It didn't seem like much time passed between their quick breakfast and Dean calling her back outside. "She's all done Princess." He called proudly as she returned to stand on the porch. He held the car key out to her as she descended the narrow steps.

"Really?" She asked quietly reaching for Dean's outstretched hand and the mini Deathstar keychain with the Chargers small silver key dangling from it. "You think she'll start?"

He nodded, "You want to take her for a spin."

"Hell yes!" Ryan cried jumping into her car. Dean slid into the passenger seat next to her and she sent another quick prayer to whatever Angel might be looking down on her to please let Trixie start. She turned the key in the ignition and the car growled to life, sounding angry for being left cold and silent for so long.

"Yeah baby!" Dean yelled happily patting the dashboard.

Ryan caressed the gear shift. "Come on baby girl show me what you can do." She murmured to the car. 'I am so screwed,' he thought watching as she revved the engine and shivered, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips."Buckle up buttercup. I got something way better than Indian Rock to show you." She said smiling at him. He snapped his buckle into place and grabbed the Oh-Shit handle above his head as she shifted the car into drive sending a cloud of dirt spraying behind them as the tires spun for purchase . The engine roared like hell on four wheels as Ryan tore down the dirt road, shifting gears like Bo and Luke had been her driving instructors. She peeled away from the cabin following twisting, narrow, unmarked dirt roads for miles before spinning the car in a wild doughnut and slamming on the brakes. Dean vaguely heard her yell triumphantly as the car rocked backed on her shocks, his heart beating an adrenaline fueled staccato loudly in his head. She laughed loudly, cheeks flushed, head thrown back and for the first time in a long time actually happy.

He fumbled with the belt restraining him in place. She looked at him, still smiling broadly, her glasses slightly askew from her driving theatrics. His tingling fingers finally figured out the latch and he slid across the seat towards her, her smile faltered and she flinched when he reached his hands towards her. He had wanted to wrap his hands behind her head, run his fingers through her hair while he kissed her stupid. Instead he saw her smile fall as she instinctively shrank away from his hands. She probably didn't even realize she'd done it, tilting her head away to protect the most vulnerable parts of her face. He changed his intended target and gently adjusted her glasses then sat back wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. "Nice drivin' Toretto." He said smiling at her.

She visibly relaxed, pushing her hair out of her face and unbuckled her own seat belt. "Thanks….sorry…I've always anted to drive like that. I knew she could handle it."

"Don't be sorry. You're amazing…your driving is amazing." Dean said then blew out a long breath. 'Smooth, real smooth.' He thought to himself.

She leaned across the seat and placed a lite, chaste kiss on his cheek. "Thank you. This car means the world to me, D…." She murmured into his ear before leaning back. Her eyes darted to the full lips she'd been inches from, if she leaned forward again she could kiss him. He might make fun of her after or push her away but how much better of a first kiss could she ask for? Kissing the boy she'd had a crush on basically her whole life in the front seat of the sexiest thing she's ever owned, overlooking her favorite view seemed pretty ideal. She tilted her head fortifying her nerve before it disappeared and readying herself to clumsily brush her lips against his with the hope he took the reins before it got pathetic.

"How 'bout that view? " Dean said cluelessly turning his head away from her to look out the front window.

Completely and utterly embarrassed she dug her teeth into her bottom lip and sat all the way back putting a few feet of distance between them. "It's better out here." Ryan told him before opening her car door and climbing out. She pushed her hair out of her face as she heard Deans car door slam shut. His boots crunched on the dirt behind her as he surveyed the view.

"Yeah kiddo it's pretty great." He said walking up to her with his hands tucked back in his pockets.

Ryan shook her head. "Kiddo... you're so stupid Reject." She muttered angrily to herself.

"What?" He asked.

She rolled her shoulders and took another deep breath. Now was as good a time as any to tell him her plan."This is my favorite spot." She said not looking at him while she led him a few hundred feet from the car to a jagged ledge. The cliff dropped off leading down to a valley full of green trees and craggy rocks. "Thats the interstate." She said raising her hand and pointing at the dark black strip that cut through the purple mountains at the horizon.

"The mountains are beautiful."

Ryan turned towards him, "I'm leaving."

"Excuse me?" He asked.

She crossed her arms over her chest defensively, " I'm leaving Montana, my father, hunting...all of it. I'm done. I'm eighteen no one can make me stay or come back, I have money, I have my car. "

"And when were you planning on this?"

"Now. Tonight. As soon as we get back. I'm packed, I'm leaving before he gets back."

Dean took a step towards her. "The hell you are."

"What?" She demanded.

"You're not goin' anywhere."

"Screw you Winchester. This is my chance to get out-"

"You can't just take off while our dads are gone." Dean told her.

"Yeah I can. It's the best time. No threats, no fights, he won't even give a shit that I'm gone. Trust me-"

He took another step closer, "What about me?" Ryan blinked and dropped her arms. "My dad comes back and you aren't here... if I have to tell him you ran away on my watch he will fucking kill me." Dean didn't look angry, he looked frightened, face pale, green eyes tight with worry. "Sam ran on my watch. I left him alone to go get laid, I can't even remember her name or what she fucking looked like but it seemed so god damn important to get my dick wet and when I got back Sam was gone and when dad found out...when I had to tell him...he will kill me, Ryan."

"Then come with me." She told him. "We'll get our stuff and just go. We'll get away from those abusive fucking assholes. We can be free, have our own lives."

"You don't know what you're talking about-" Dean said quietly dropping his eyes to his boots.

Ryan reached her hand out and brushed the fading bruises on his face. "Takes one to know one, D." She said quietly. "Whatever he did it wasn't the first time and it won't be the last. All the black eyes, the bruises...the summer you showed up with a broken arm? I remember. You can't lie to me. Not anymore."

He placed his hand over hers gently squeezing her fingers. "I can't leave my dad. I can't run away from my family like Sam did..."

" Come with me." She repeated quietly stepping forward..

"I can't..." He said shaking his head. "Please, please don't do this. Not now, not like this. "

Ryan pulled her hand away from him. After all her planning, late night phone calls to Bobby, scrimping every dollar for car repairs, biding time until her birthday. She hadn't planned for this, for her father to call John Winchester in a drunken stupor or for John to actually show the fuck up. And she certainly hadn't planned for Dean. "God damn it, Dean." She cursed. "I can't do this anymore. I won't! I won't fucking live like this and I certainly won't die like this! And You don't have to either."

"I'm not asking you to stay forever. Just wait until our dads get back. You wanna leave as soon as we see the whites of their eyes I won't stop you and I won't let them stop you either." He told her reaching out for her hand and gently took the keys she still grasped in her palm. "Let's just go home. Please."

Ryan silently released the keys to him and stalked back to the car. They drove to the cabin in silence; Ryan staring quietly out at the trees, Dean taking his eyes off the road to watch her. "Why don't we go swimming for a while?" He asked her as the car bounced back down the Toryn's private road.

"I don't want to go swimming." She replied as the cabin came into view.

"Then how about we share a six pack and play video games or watch some shitty movies...I'll run to town and get us some dinner you can put on those stupid ugly slippers-"

"I'll pass."

Dean sighed running his hands along the steering wheel. "What do you want then?"

"I'll tell you what I don't want," she said. "I don't want to pretend that everything is ok because it's not-"

"I know."

She sighed, " I just need to get out of here. I don't want to wait around for my father to get back...but I will wait because you asked me to and because I won't be the reason John hurts you again. But please just leave me alone and I'll leave you alone and then maybe it won't hurt so bad when I have to watch you leave again." She got out of the car and walked into the cabin without looking back. Dean sat in the silent car for a long time after, staring at the cabin, angry at himself for being afraid of his father, and more angry at being afraid of leaving. The prospect of a halfway normal life was within reach if they just drove away but it felt like he'd never known anything but hunting and following his fathers orders.

They spent the next couple of days existing in the same house but not really ever sharing the same space; only bumping into each other in the kitchen in the morning when they came in search of coffee or in the hallway or stairwell. Ryan spent most of the time in her room where she always felt safest in the quiet and loneliness. Dean read and worked on the Impala or Charger doing minor maintenance and repairs because he had nothing better to do. His father sent him a cryptic text message of coordinates followed by a trio of 7's a little after the fifty hour mark of their last call. Dean knew the 7-7-7 meant everything was good he just didn't know exactly where his father was. "Can't you just tell me where you are asshole..." he grumbled under his breath as he searched the living room and kitchen for Ryan's laptop wanting to check the coordinates but came up empty handed. So he found himself outside of Ryan's room rapping his knuckles on the door and hoping she wouldn't ignore him.

The door swung open and Ryan appeared with her pajamas still on. "Yes?" She asked.

"Can I use your laptop?" He asked tucking his hands in his pockets. "Dad sent me a message and I just need to check something."

"Is that code for you're going to use it watch porn?" She asked turning away from him and rearranging stacks of books and papers searching for it. "You know you can come into my room without erupting in flames. It's not like you haven't been in here before." She told him.

Dean coughed, worried she had somehow figured out he had previously snooped in her room. But it wasn't like he had gone through her underwear drawer. "Well you used to have a real bed and toys...and you were like ten years old last time." He said stepping forward as she finally uncovered her old sticker covered laptop.

"I'm sure the toys are still around here somewhere. I lost the bed privilege after I ran away for the second time. Took me six months just to earn a mattress instead of a sleeping bag." She said holding the laptop out to him. "Practice safe internet sex and don't get a virus on it."

"I'm not gonna watch porn on it." He told her.

"Sure you aren't," She told him rolling her eyes. "Now get the hell outta my room, Winchester."

"Brat," He called over his shoulder as she shooed him out of her room and shut the door. The coordinates turned out to be for a small town in southern Colorado, which meant his and Ryan's fathers had traveled further away than they had planned. "Damn it, dad." He muttered. "What the hell is going on in Pueblo?" He skimmed through several local newspapers and couldn't find any definitive leads but then again he wasn't his father. John Winchester had a knack turning breadcrumbs into full blown cases. After thirty minutes of fruitless searching he couldn't help but check Ryan's bookmarks and favorite pages before switching over to his favorite porn site. Another thirty minutes of disinterested browsing and he went back to the news searching for interesting stories in the local area.

Intriguing enough he found a potential case in Whitehall, the same small town Ryan had wanted to go for the fair. Apparently the small town had seen a recent increase in violent murders. Six people were dead so far. Three sets of parents from a small, tight nit community were brutally murdered in their homes, the children in each case unharmed. Some articles were even reporting possible cannibalism. The only links to the murders were that each family had spent the day before the murder at the fair. A little more digging and Dean found similar cases scattered along the fairs path, someone or more likely something at the fair was killing and eating people.

"Your disaffected teen age angst phase is officially over," Dean announced barging into Ryan's room. She gave a startled scream and tossed the book she had been reading at his head. He ducked it and continued on his path to her closet.

"Get the fuck outta my room, Dean!" She yelled scrambling free from her cocoon of pillows and blankets. "What part of leave me alone don't you get?"

He ignored her as he dug through her closet until he found clothes he deemed suitable. "I did leave you alone. For two whole days. And now I'm bored and I'm tired of you ignoring me and we gotta job." He said turning towards her to give her the outfit he picked out. "Get dressed we're going to the fair."

Ryan spluttered indignantly, pushing her glasses back up her nose, face growing redder by the second. "What…what the fuck kind of job?"

"Hey, language princess." Dean chided. "A job-job. A hunt. Get dressed."

"I'm not hunting with you. You're still injured." She countered.

Dean swung his arms above his head in a wide arc then dropped to the floor in a pushup poistion. "Woke up yesterday feelin' like a million bucks." He said from the floor. Ryan stopped counting after the first dozen push ups.

"Alright…alright G.I. Jane I get it. What are we hunting?" She asked as he stood back up smiling like an idiot.

"I dunno."

"Of course you don't …this is a skirt." Ryan said looking at the bundle of clothes Dean had shoved at her.

"Yeah it's the only one you had." He answered.

"Why would I wear a skirt on a hunt?"

Dean shrugged, "Because when we're done with killing whatever it is that needs killing we're going to enjoy the fair."

Ryan tilted her head looking at him quizzically. "Is this a date? Are you asking me out on a date?"

He blew out a long breath, rocking back and forth on his feet feigning indifference. "No…maybe… do you want it to be a date?"

It was Ryans turn to shrug. "No I don't I think do. Because that would be weird…"

"Super weird…." Dean agreed.

"Yeah…well if I'm supposed to wear this skirt on our none-date. I need to shave my legs because I've got a Wookie thing going on right now…" She said once again pushing him out of her room, Dean in turn started making very accurate Wookie noises on his way back to his room.

"Can I ask you something real quick?" Dean asked as she walked across the hallway towards the bathroom. She gave him an affirmative 'mmhhmm' while she searched a cabinet for clean towel. "What is fan fiction and who are Serena and Darien?" Ryan choked on her tongue with a strangled, embarrassed squeak as she darted into the bathroom slamming the door to block Dean's teasing laughter.


	5. Chapter 5

Ch5

"Dean this could be anything..." Ryan told him after they hit the road once she had showered and dressed. She went back through the news stories Dean had found while he drove them to Whitehall. "Hmmm...Does Sam still have that completely irrational fear of clowns?" She asked.

"Yeah he still cries every time Ronald McDonald comes on the TV." He answered. "You scarred the kid for life."

"Me? You're the one that let us watch 'IT'," She countered. "What kind of babysitter lets a couple of kids watch the scariest frickin' mini-series ever made?"

"An awesome babysitter..."

Ryan laughed, "Yeah well Sam might be on to something. I found a psych eval from one of the surviving kids, apparently the poor kid says a clown killed their mom and dad. And then disappeared-"

"Like Houdini?" Dean asked.

Ryan nodded. "Like something."

"Then I assume the five-ohs checked the carnies."

"Yep and it looks like they all have air tight alibis and the description the kid gave doesn't match anyone that works at the carnival anyways."

"Then maybe this ain't a case and it's just some freak in a clown mask." Dean said.

"Yeah I was kind of hoping that too but then I started digging and there's a pattern." She paused to push her glasses into place and every fantasy Dean had ever had about naughty teachers and librarians roared to life. He looked across the seat at her where she leaned against the door staring down at her laptop. The skirt he had picked out, and she had actually agreed to wear, was sitting high on her pale thighs as she stretched her legs across the seat, ankles crossed, her toe tapping his thigh while she worked. He had never seen her in a skirt, not even when they were kids. He could just make out the pale blue triangle of her underwear from the shadows of the dark denim fabric; if he stared longer he could probably even tell if they were lace or not. He hoped they were lace. She uncrossed her ankles and adjusted the laptop. Yep they were lace. He pulled his eyes back to the road before she caught on to his pervy stare. "Every thirty-ish years or so going back at least a century there's a string of murders and cannibalism following the trail of a circus or carnival... The McMurty Family Fair in 1901- five murders, The Traveling Casorini's Carnival 1935 - three murders, The Flying Farley's 1972 another seven dead, et cetera...That's a feeding pattern. I can think of a dozen monsters right off the bat that this could be and you gotta kill'em all differently."

"Then I'll guess we'll have to Scooby-Doo it until we figure out what it is. We know it's traveling with or alongside the fair. Dresses up like a clown, eats people...See our search is already narrowed down." He said smiling sardonically back at her.

Ryan sighed and clicked on another article trying to find any information that might be useful. "Did you tell your dad we're going on a hunt?" She asked.

"Nope. Did you tell yours?"

She laughed sarcastically, "Yeah right after daddy called to apologize for forgetting my eighteenth birthday."

He cast her a sidelong look and she felt his eyes on her. She looked up from the laptop, met his green eyes, her pink lips turned up in a smile that brightened her whole face before she lost her nerve and looked down chewing her bottom lip. "So are you gonna tell me about the Super Sailors and their sexy adventures?"

"Screw you Dean." Ryan huffed pulling her knees up and trying to hide her face behind them as her cheeks and ears turned pink. A rookie move made by someone inexperienced with wearing less than three layers and long sleeves at all times. Her underwear were hidden by her bent legs but she exposed the pale porcelain skin of her thighs. Dean gripped the steering wheel a little tighter to stop himself from reaching over and running his hand along the smooth skin. It had already been torture with her legs nearly in his lap. "So I like nerdy shit...and smutty fan fiction. Lots of other people do too."

He let out a high-pitched, surprised 'oohhh!' taking his eyes off the road to stare at her. "You read smut? Ryan Toryn, I raised you better than that…" He clicked his tongue disapprovingly, making her blush harder.

"Shut up," She muttered again from behind her knees. "You didn't clear your browser history either…And it looks like you're a big fan of Ruby Dawn." Her fingers swiped across her laptop and he saw her eyes grow wide. "Wow she's very limber. I bet she does yoga."

"I clicked that on accident..."

"Twenty seven times?" She asked then went quiet for several very long seconds watching Ruby Dawn ,who by the very graphic sounds coming from the laptop speakers, was apparently immensely enjoying herself in one of the clips. "…..You think she's a real red head?"

Dean laughed loudly, "Alright truce…come on tell me about the Sailor girls."

"Sailor Scouts and why do you want to know about them?" Ryan asked shutting the laptop and lowering her knee fortress to look at him.

Dean shrugged, "You watched all those crappy horror movies I like, listen to my music. I want to know about something you like."

She studied him quietly as they drove a few more miles, trying to decide if he was still teasing her. He finally looked over at her raising his eyebrows expectantly. "Ok," she began after taking a deep breath, "…so the gist of the story is Usagi, or Serena in the English version, is a normal teenage girl and a bit of crybaby until a talking cat givers her a magic brooch and she becomes a super hero destined to help protect the universe-" Once she started talking and Dean seemed genuinely interested, even asking questions to clarify certain plot points, her shyness dissipated. They spent the rest of the drive to Whitehall jumping between topics: movies, books, music, random historical facts. Turned out they were both fans of Winston Churchill and the 'Roaring Twenties' especially the gangsters and moonshiners. Dean didn't understand her love for 90's grunge, she definitely didn't agree that 'Scarface' was the pinnacle of modern film making and they surprisingly both agreed that 'Deep Space Nine' was the superior Star Trek TV series.

They arrived at the fair before dusk, the lights on the rides just starting to shine in the fading sunlight. Thick swirling grey clouds massed on the horizon as a thunder storm loomed. The crowds were just beginning to trickle in. Scents of delicious fried foods of every variety and the sweetness of kettle corn filled the humid air. Dean parked the Impala far from the main entrance and away from the flood lights that dotted the parking area. "Silver, salt, holy water...where's the lighter fluid and matches?" Ryan asked tucking items into her backpack. Dean searched for a moment before finding the items she asked for under a box of flares. Then he grabbed his favorite pistol and made sure that is was loaded before tucking it behind his back.

"You good with a Glock?" He asked choosing another gun from the pile of his and his fathers weapons.

She nodded. "I'm good with anything." She said settling the now loaded backpack over her shoulders.

"Alright, Annie Oakley." Dean smiled handing her the gun. She mimicked his movement tucking the gun behind her skirt and pulling her sweater over it. He paid the admission fee and they got their brightly colored wristbands from a skeletally thin man stooped over in rickety ticket booth and walked past groups of teenagers and families waiting in lines for rides and games. "Don't wander too far," Dean instructed as they mingled into the crowd. He held his EMF detector discreetly at his side watching for any spikes, keeping one eye on Ryan as she accidentally-on purpose bumped into as many clowns and performers dotting the midway as she could testing them with silver and holy water.

"Mommy! Mommy look at the clown!" A little girl squealed happily pointing to a spot on the far side of the midway.

"Theres clowns everywhere honey." The mother said dragging her daughter in the opposite direction. Ryan scanned where the little girl had pointed and saw a clown dancing in huge floppy red shoes making balloon animals and handing them to giggling children as they walked by. His huge painted red-rictus smile pulled his lips grotesquely wide making him look like Ronald McDonald on acid. A man pushing a hotdog cart cut her off and when she looked up the clown had disappeared into the crowd. Ryan splashed hotdog man with a healthy dose of holy water as he rolled by.

They made a circle of the fair and came no closer to finding any clues as to who or what their monster was. "We're not getting anywhere..." Ryan said around a mouthful of kettle corn. She and Dean had taken a moment to regroup and decided snacks were the best way to get the hunter instincts flowing. "Somebody here is hiding something...we should check their RVs." She told Dean as night fully enveloped the fair. They snuck away from the brightly lit midway and sounds of laughter into the deep shadows of the RV littered field beyond.

The RV's were all almost identical, huge monstrosities in various shades of what-used-to-be-white, satellite cable dishes attached to the newer models, some had tables and chairs set up outside for communal dining. "You smell that?" Ryan suddenly asked grabbing Dean, who had been playing with an assortment of inappropriate wind spinners staked into the ground in front of one particularly large RV.

"Smell what?" He asked taking his hand away from a lawn gnome that dropped its pants when the wind blew.

Ryan sniffed the air again, "Something smelly...something dead and smelly-" She trailed off. He inhaled deeply, again only getting the scents of food and people from the fair and the smell of rain that hung in the heavy clouds. Then the breeze shifted subtly, the gnome he'd been playing with dropped its pants and Dean caught the faint sickly sweet scent of decay. Ryan let go of his arm, ducked under softly tinkling wind chimes hanging from a retractable awning and followed the scent row after row of trailers and RV's. The stench grew stronger the further away from the fair they crept until finally it was nearly overwhelming outside a shiny silver, retro Airstream parked several hundred feet away from the other RVs. She stood on her toes trying to peak into the windows and still came a few inches short. "I can't see anything…" she grumbled trying to pull herself up.

"Too dark to see anything from out here," Dean whispered next to her easily peering though the window. They moved to the door of the trailer and Dean knocked softly while Ryan stood with her gun ready. When no one answered Dean retrieved his lock pick and quickly opened the door. The air inside the trailer was thick and stale. Covering their noses they made their way further inside the darkness towards the smell of old blood and meat left to rot. The stench came from the creatures leftovers; part of a mans foot and what looked like a partially eaten ear left on a folding dining table in the kitchenette. A refrigerator long past its prime dripped something noxious onto the tile floor as Ryan and Dean did their best to avoid stepping in it. "Any ideas what we're facing yet?" Dean murmured as he checked the small bathroom.

"Nope," Ryan whispered back following the narrow hallway to the bedroom. A moldy quilt lay on top of a lumpy bed. The mattress undulated slowly and at first Ryan thought it was a water bed but the movements were accompanied by a low scratching noise. She grabbed one corner of the filthy blanket and pulled it off the moving bed. "Oh fuck, fuck, fuck." She hissed frightened and disgusted by the mass of bugs squirming sluggishly on the bed. She dropped the blanket retreating away from the bed as the bugs still showing signs of life crawled over their dead comrades and spilled onto the floor. She backed into a solid wall of flannel and let out a startled cry, clamping one hand over her mouth as Dean appeared behind her.

"Ewww...are those bugs?" He uttered disgustedly.

Ryan grabbed his arm and dragged him away from the room. "Yes and we need to get the hell out of here. We don't have anything that can kill this thing-"

"You know what it is?" Dean asked as she pulled him towards the door.

"It's a Rakshasa. A type of shapeshifter. Eats human flesh, very strong, lives in squalor and sleeps on a bed of bugs. They can only be killed with a blade made of brass and we don't have that." She told him once again stepping over the congealing puddle of nastiness leaking from the warm fridge. "We need to find out who lives here. And come back prepared." She said as the door to the cramped, stale trailer was once again opened the thin man from the ticket booth clambered into view.

"What the hell are you doing in my home!" The man screamed at them. Before Ryan could pull her pistol from behind her back Dean was shoving her against the wall and pushing past her to confront the man in the entryway. He had his pistol out ready to shoot when the monster sneered and tilted its head to an unnatural angle. "Hunters... I love hunter meat." The man disappeared as Dean ran forward slipping on the puddle of yuck on the floor and skidding in a tight circle like Bryan Boitano trying to land a corkscrew. The Rakshasa reappeared dressed as the clown from the midway. It's huge floppy red shoes squeaked on the dirty tile floor, the bell on its bright yellow hat tinkled merrily as it knocked the gun out of Deans hand with one strong blow. The gun clattered away into the darkness and filth, Dean swung his fist connecting with the things jaw. Ryan heard him grunt in pain and cradle his hand as the clown laughed. The blood red painted on smile making the things face look like it was coming apart at the jaw. Next thing she knew the Rakshasa grabbed hold of Dean and flung him up into the low ceiling then let him crash back down to the floor. Dean groaned in pain, scrambling to his hands and knees as the monster leaned down, its features elongating, jaw unhinging and filling with razor sharp teeth as it changed into a nightmare.

"Hey! Pogo!" Ryan yelled at the Rakshasa pulling its attention from Dean. She fired three quick shots at its head knowing the bullets wouldn't kill the creature but needing a distraction. The monsters growled and disappeared, the bullets shoot through the wall where it had been standing. She ran to Deans side and pulled him to his feet. "Anything broken?" She asked kicking the door open and dragging him with her back into the darkness outside.

He shook his head trying to clear the last of the haziness and ringing in his ears . "No...no I don't think so. What just happened? Where'd it go?"

She grabbed his hand and ran back through the mobile neighborhood . "Did I forget to mention they can turn invisible? And they can literally turn into anything made of flesh and blood whether that something is real or not...and they can make your brain explode with their psychic powers." She said skidding to a stop back in front of the RV with jangling wind chimes.

"Wh-What? Like the dad in Firestarter?" Dean asked as Ryan let go of his hand to inspect the wind chimes. She finally found what she was looking for and lifted one of the wind chimes off its hook.

"No I made up the part about the brain exploding." She said smiling at him as she ripped the wind chime apart. She handed him one of the long yellowish wind chime tubes. "I'm pretty sure this is brass..."

"Pretty sure...pretty sure? How do we know it's gonna work?" He demanded as a loud squeak and a tinkling bell sounded from the row of RVs behind them. He looked over his shoulder sure the shapeshifting monster clown would be standing behind them.

Ryan grabbed his hand again and ran towards the safe lights of the fair, "Well, if we stab it and it dies then these are made of brass. If we stab it and it doesn't die then it's not brass."

"Then what?"

She shrugged, "Then it will probably kill and eat us."

"Son of bitch...this was a mistake I fucked up. We need to go," Dean said grabbing her elbow trying to steer her towards the exit gates.

Ryan dug her heels into the soft dirt and pulled him back. "The hell we are!" She snapped.

Dean turned to look down at her, "Listen to me kid-"

"No, you listen to me Dean Winchester," She said poking her finger angrily in his chest, "You found this case, you drug my ass out here after I told you I want out of hunting, and now we're here and this thing is fucking killing people. I am finishing this with or with out you..." She pulled her arm free and turned back into the crowd yelling over her shoulder, "And I'm not a fucking kid!"

Dean watched her grey backpack bounce angrily against her back as she stomped off tapping the wind chime against her thigh as she scanned the crowd. "No you are not," he muttered running his hands through his hair and following her into the crowd. He lost track of her for a few tense seconds before finding her standing patiently in line for the Haunted House. "What are you doing?" He asked stepping into line next to her.

"I heard they have a pretty legit Haunted House," she answered. The group ahead of them were ushered into the maze and they stepped towards the line handler spitting sunflower shells into the dirt at their feet. "Our friend is watching us from behind the balloon game- don't look!" She said quickly cupping Dean's face with her hands to keep him from looking over his shoulder.

"Next!" The carnie in front of them yelled.

Ryan reached into her shirt and pulled a folded $50 bill out of her bra. "I think it's time for your smoke break," she said holding the cash out to the carnie.

He glanced at them, shrugged, then pocketed the bill. "Whatever gets your rocks off…" He muttered getting off his stool and drawing a chain across the entrance. Dean met Ryan's eyes as she took his hand in hers and led them through the fake cobwebs and smoke machine fog into the Haunted House. The first room was a graveyard complete with card board tombstones and a bed sheet ghost hanging limply from the low ceiling. Recorded screams and ghastly moans echoed through staticky speakers. A skeleton dropped from the ceiling in front of Dean and he karate chopped it across the room with a theatric 'hi-ya!'. Ryan gave him an 'are-you-serious' glare and he shrugged, "What? I have the reflexes of a cat."

"Yeah the little known spaz-cat." She muttered shaking her head. The graveyard trail led them through a narrow passageway into the next room which was pitch black with soft bouncy floors and bumped into each other several times before Dean finally wrapped his hands around her hips to keep her in front of him while she trailed her hands along the wall searching for the hidden door.

"You think it's gonna come after us?" Dean asked quietly from behind her.

"We attacked it in its den, we can blow it's cover, and I flipped it the bird as we walked in. Yeah its gonna come after us." She answered. She found the hidden door and pushed it open. Their reflections stared back at them from rows and rows of warped fun house mirrors. Strobe lights distorted their sense of direction and they took the tight curves slowly. Their ears and nerves on edge for any sign of the Rakshasa. After many muttered curses and several false starts and dead ends they found the next room. Dean parted a plastic bead curtain and they looked into a room filled with dozens of mannequins dressed as clowns.

"Sam would lose his shit right now," Dean said gleefully as he walked around the room squeezing red rubber noses as he passed them. A self playing organ in the far corner played creepy circus music. The bare light bulbs overhead flickered ominously several times.

"I got a bad feeling about this," Ryan said quietly. The lights flickered again then shut off completely. The last few notes of music echoed hollowly in the air. "Shit! Dean!" She hissed into the darkness. She heard him shuffle in the darkness towards her.

"I'm here." He said quietly once again coming to stand behind her and placed one large, reassuring hand on her hip. "The exits on the other side of the piano-"

"It's technically a calliope." Ryan cut in.

Dean let a long suffering sigh. That was just the sarcastic, know it all reply Sam would have given him. "The exit is on the other side of the calliope. We just need to get there."

"You didn't happen to pack a flashlight did you, Shaggy?" Ryan asked as they moved slowly forward in the oppressive pitch black.

"Planning is Velmas job." He replied.

She laughed quietly readjusting their direction slightly when she grazed against the satiny costume of one of the mannequins. "Why am I not Daphne? I though Daphne was your favorite."

"Because your short, nerdy, wear glasses…Velma's the one you gotta watch out for-" He stopped talking when the faint tinkle of a bell echoed from the room behind them. "Move, move now!" He growled in her ear. The hand on her hip urging her forwards.

Ryan let out a startled, "Son of a bitch!", when she knocked into the plastic body of one of the mannequins. It toppled side ways and hit the floor with a hollow crash as its limbs and head scattered across the dark floor. "So maybe this wasn't the best idea I've ever had..."

"Yeah well if we die, I'll remind you of that." Dean muttered.

She banged her knees into something hard a few feet later. "Found the piano..." she gasped bending down to rub her bruised knee caps.

"I thought it was a calliope," Dean retorted as they edged around the big machine trying to avoid running into it or any other obstacles on their way to the exit. "Ouch...damn it." He cursed a moment later after Ryan bounced off another solid object in front of her and stepped on his feet.

"Sorry..." Came her quiet reply just as the calliope and lights suddenly returned to life, the circus music disjointed as the old machine struggled to start back up. The mannequin she bumped into still stood solidly in front of her, its yellow costume bright in the glowing lights, floppy red shoes shiny and the little silver bell on its hat tinkled merrily when it suddenly craned its neck to look down at her.

"Hey kiddies! I got something I wanna show ya!" The clown cackled. It swung its arm out and swatted Ryan across the room where she crashed into the wall and lay unmoving amongst a pile of spare mannequin parts. Dean jumped forward holding the thin hopefully-brass cylinder tube in front of him like a dagger. The clown disappeared and Dean stumbled forward caught up in his own momentum. It reappeared behind him and kicked him in the middle of his back sending him crashing forward onto his hands and knees. The Rakshasa was back on him before he could scramble up, the monster yanking him to his feet and tossing him into the turn-of-the-century calliope. The music came to another grumbling, clanking halt as he crashed into it then the floor. "Normally I have to be invited in to get a good meal; You can always count on kids to love a clown." The Rakshasa said.

It might have been the bright red smile or the bell that jingled happily every time it took a step towards him but Dean was suddenly feeling very much like these were the last moments of his life and the Hellraiser edition of Bozo the clown was going to be the end of him. He scrambled backwards swatting through the broken pieces of the calliope searching for the wind chime tube. "But you two wandered right in to my home tonight and I love delivery… Time to die hunter." The clown continued leaning over Dean and grabbing him by the front of his jacket using it to haul him to his knees.

"Think again Chuckles." Ryan said reappearing at the monsters side. Her glasses once again askew, a thin trickle of blood oozing down her forehead but somehow miraculously still grasping the wind chime. She stabbed the makeshift blade through the things neck. It spluttered in pain, clawing at the brass in its throat as dark blackish blood spilled from the wound and out of its mouth. It dropped Dean in a stunned heap at its feet and staggered back giving one final guttural moan before exploding into a cloud of hazy smoke. "I fucking hate clowns." Ryan muttered kicking the bloody wind chime away from her. "You ok?" She asked looking down at Dean as he pulled himself shakily to his feet. She took her bent glasses off and cursed under breath, "Fuck this is the third pair this year. Dad's gonna kick my ass."

Dean looked at the quickly dissipating cloud of smoke then to her. Ryan tucked the broken glasses into the pocket of her sweater before meeting his eyes and took an immediate, nervous step back. Deans eyes burned the green of his iris almost glowing in the dim room. His chest rose and fell with the depth of his breaths. He clenched his hands at his sides hard enough that his arms shook and his knuckles turned white. He ground his jaw with frustration and indecision. "Fuck it," he muttered settling the unspoken argument he'd been having with himself as he strode towards her like an animal stalking its prey.

Ryan darted back another few steps until she backed into the wall. "Dean please...It didn't go down as smooth as I hoped but we got it ok? Please don't. I won't fuck up again-" she plead. Dean didn't listen to her ask for mercy as he tangled one hand in her hair, tilting her head up to look at him and sunk his other hand into her ass pulling her into him in one swift move. Her confused, frightened brain couldn't catch up with what was happening until his lips were on hers.

This was no shy, bumbling, nervous first kiss. He kissed her like he was suffocating, starving and dying of thirst all at once and she was his only hope for survival. His lips and body demanded she respond, the way he pulled her hair gently to deepen the kiss, his lips bruising hers as his other hand moved to the back of her thigh and hooked it over his hip so he could press closer to her. The hard bulge in his jeans rubbed the most divine spot between her thighs and she gasped against his lips. Dean took the opportunity to slip his tongue in her mouth, tasting and probing her all the while rocking his hips into her again. He let go of her hair and moved his now free hand to her breast, massaging her through her shirt. He wouldn't let her breath, he wanted all of her right now, wanted to devour her, his lips and tongue not stopping as she moaned into his mouth wrapping her hands in his jacket pushing her chest into his big hand. There was no learning curve when it came to making out with Dean Winchester; she had jumped off the deep end feet first and was drowning in him. The only coherent thought bouncing around her head was 'more, more, more'. More of his lips, his body pressing into her, his hands massaging her ass. 'More, more, more'.

Somehow through the echo of his blood pounding in his head he heard the faint sound of teenaged screams and laughter. He slowly let go of her leg and brought their soul burning kiss to a gentle end. "Sounds like our friends back from his smoke break," he murmured against her ear before kissing her cheek and brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. She swooned on her feet still grasping his jacket lest she sink to the floor, dizzy and tingling, burning up and freezing and still completely bewildered as to what just happened. She rested her head on his chest listening to his heart pound as fast and hard as hers was. The laughter got closer and when she finally felt like her legs would cooperate she took his hand and let him take her out of the haunted house.

Dean led them back through the midway and out the turnstiles. There was no rush in his step, no eagerness to get anywhere in particular except away from the hustle of the fair and back to the quiet safety of his car. Ryan followed quietly behind him, still tightly grasping his hand as the familiar feeling of worry and insecurity grew in her belly. He hadn't said anything to her since leaving the maze or even looked back at her as they made their way through the now crowded field of parked cars to the furthest, darkest corner where the Impala waited. "Dean…. talk to me." She said. "What the hell was that back there?" She said as they came to a halt in front of the shiny black car.

"That back there was you killing that monster and being pretty much the sexiest thing I've ever seen." He said cocking an eyebrow at her.

"And? You give me the worlds hottest first kiss and…and now what?" She demanded.

"That was your first kiss? Was it better than your Sailor Moon stories?" Dean asked walking away from her to the rear of the car.

"Why did I just tell you that?" Ryan muttered to herself watching as he popped the trunk and disappeared for a moment searching for something to clean her forehead with. He returned to her side with a bottle of whiskey, a cleanish shirt and a small pack of butterfly dressings.

"Now I'm gonna clean that gash on your forehead because it's gross then I'm gonna kiss you again if you'll let me," he said crowding her back towards the car. He lifted her onto the hood of the car and letting the hard bulge in his jeans press into her belly as he did it. He cleaned the wound the best he could. She hissed in pain as he dabbed the alcohol soaked shirt onto the wound then closed it with one of the butterfly sutures. "I got get us a real first-aid kit." He said smiling down at her and taking a swig of whiskey before setting it on the hood next to her.

Ryan grabbed his shirt before he could back away. "Please kiss me again." She said pulling him closer. She hesitated this time, simply because she had the time to, her lips barely brushing his. She wanted to enjoy the feel of them on her own before her brain short circuited again from lack of oxygen. He leaned in to her, closing the distance so could press his lips into hers. She opened her mouth letting her tongue slide along his. She moaned lowly tasting the whiskey he had drank. His hands went back to her ass and pulled her almost off the edge of the car so he could settle himself between her thighs. Ryan wrapped her legs behind him digging her heels into his ass making Dean groan deep in his chest. His lips trailed along her jaw and down her neck, his teeth dragged along her throat before his lips sucked on her raging pulse point. "Fuck D," she moaned rocking her hips against him, little shockwaves of tingling pleasure ricocheting through her body every time the wet spot on her panties rubbed against his jeans.

"You've got to tell me what you want because this is just the beginning of what I want." Dean groaned huskily in her ear.

Ryan's breath came in shallow pants, her lips tingled, the spot on her throat that Dean had sucked a dark mark into throbbed as did the swollen needy bud between her legs. "I want to get out of here so you can show me much trouble we can get into in the backseat." He took another swig of whiskey to get himself under control before he lifted her off the hood. The first crack of lightening arced across the sky as they climbed back into the car. Their eyes met across the seat and they both knew they weren't going to make it very far. He just needed to get them away from the fair and potentially prying eyes or pissed off carnies. The first heavy drops of rain fell as the sky opened up letting loose the storm it at threatened all night as the car growled to life and Dean drove them away from the fair.

As always thank you for reading. Please take a moment to review and let me know how you're liking the story Thank you!


	6. Chapter 6

Authors warning: sex up ahead. lots of sex. little bit of plot. more plot to follow in the next chapter.

Ch 6

Conversation in the Impala was at a minimum. Ryan and Dean shared silent, heavy stares as the air between them filled with nervous anticipation. The Indian Summer rain turned quickly from a lite shower to heavy monsoon. He scanned road signs looking for a place to stop for the night, or a few hours at least.

Rain fell in sheets obscuring the road, the Impalas wipers unable to keep up with the buckets of water being dropped from the sky. He kept the car steady, humming along quietly with whatever song played on the tape deck as he looked across the seat at her. As the storms rage grew so did her tension. She had one hand braced on the dashboard, the other clamped on the seatbelt across her chest like she expected them to crash at any moment. She shivered in her seat, arms and legs breaking out in goosebumps as a spark of lightening ignited a tree a few hundred feet from the road. "We're good…I've got this sweetheart. Just a little bit further. Then I'll pull over…" He murmured reassuringly to her. She nodded once not taking her eyes of the road as another bolt of lightning exploded next to an ancient tree. The force of the lightening burst part of the tree from the ground sending it flying onto the road in front of the Impala. "Shit…" Dean yelled yanking on the steering wheel to avoid the tree, the rain soaked road gave little traction and the car fishtailed wildly for a few heart stopping seconds before he was able to regain control.

"Dean get us off the road." Ryan said quietly. She had gone very pale, her eyes huge blue wells of fear as the blackness of the night melded with the road and the dark never ending rain.

"I'm workin' on it. Just a little bit further." He repeated as a strong gust of wind knocked into the back of the car making them skid across the road again. The tires screeched loudly as he again fought with the steering wheel to right the car.

"Get us off the road now!" She yelled. "You don't know these roads. There are ravines, bridges in this area that get washed out in the rain. Pull over!"

More lightening struck the fields on either side of the road and Dean saw the faint outline of a barn. "Alright, sweetheart, alright…I think I got us a place to hole up 'till this passes." He carefully steered the car off the highway and onto the sodden field. Ryan nodded again shoulders still tense but relaxing every so slightly as the tires hit soft earth. The hand bracing for impact on the dashboard wiped away tears she hadn't realized were falling. The barn slowly came into view as Dean tried not to think about how dinged up and caked in mud his car would be in the morning.

The barn structure looked sound enough from the outside even as the great bay doors banged against its outer walls in the gale. He angled the Impala inside the barn and let the engine idle while he climbed out and did a quick perimeter check. The building had been long abandoned evidenced by the faint scent of animals lingering in the soil and old farm equipment left rusting to dust in the dank corners. He didn't even try to shut the barn doors figuring the four walls and mostly leak free roof would keep them protected from the worst of the storm. Dean looked over his shoulder at Ryan as she finally unbuckled her seat belt, bent forward and covered her face with both hands crying hard enough to make her shoulders shake. "Shit…" he muttered. This was not how he had wanted the night to go. Things had gone south real god damn fast and he had absolutely zero expertise on how to deal with a crying eighteen year old girl. So he figured he'd do what he'd normally do with Sammy when they had a bad night, which was give him space. He grabbed a few folded blankets from the trunk, prepared to spend the night in the car, alone in the backseat since he apparently fucked up royally by driving them through the storm and scaring the piss out of Ryan.

When he leaned back into the car Ryan had taken her sweater off and was using it to dry her face. He handed her a blanket and took the key out of the ignition letting the car fall silent now that they were halfway safe for the night. "Why don't you try and get some sleep? The storm'll pass in a few hours." He said straightening up and shutting the door. She stared at her hands, twisting her fingers nervously in her lap as he slid into the back seat and kicked his boots off. Whatever bonfire of desire that had sparked between them at the fair had suddenly fizzled to embers. She picked at a piece of lint on the soft flannel blanket Dean had handed her and starred at his reflection in the rear view mirror as the car shifted slightly while he tried to find the most comfortable spot on the backseat.

"I'm sorry." She told him quietly placing the blanket on the now empty space beside her. She sighed heavily, frustrated at herself for crying and pushing Dean away. "I don't like driving in the rain..."

"Don't apologize. I spaz out at flying skeletons, you don't like the rain…I should have pulled over sooner."

The barn shook when a bolt of lightening struck the ancient weather-vane on the roof and Ryan pulled her knees up under chin. "Did Nan ever tell you how my mom died?" She asked after a few moments of silence only punctuated with the sounds of rain and thunder.

Dean moved again in the backseat, "No. Figured it wasn't any of our business."

"Dad was home for my birthday. He was still driving trucks back then and hunting in between..." She paused wiping her sweaty hands on her skirt. "I wanted to see 'The Little Mermaid'. Closest theater playing it was all the way in Missoula...I remember dad grumbling the whole drive there and mom just smiling at me from the front seat. It rained on the way home. Even worse than it is tonight."

"What happened?" Dean asked when she went quiet for several long seconds.

"The road washed out. Dad tried to go around, there was a bridge a few miles out of the way. It was flooded too but he said we could make. The car got stuck and they started yelling at each other, Mom was scared." She stopped to wipe at the tears that were falling down her cheeks again. "There was so much water inside the car my shoes were getting wet. Dad got out of the car, you know he's so fucking big and strong...and he tried to get mom out but she wouldn't go without me. My seatbelt was stuck, I remember my hands being so cold and reaching for her…momma grabbed me and I don't really remember what happened next but then dad had me and we were out in the rain and the car was gone...I can't remember the sound of my moms voice but I remember the way dad screamed her name."

"That's when you went to live with Nan?" He asked.

Ryan nodded, "He said he couldn't stand to look at me… It took two weeks to find her…your dad helped mine steal her body from the morgue. They brought her home for a Hunters funeral. You and Sammy came to stay with us for the first time a few months after that…"

"It wasn't your fault. You were a little god damn kid and she died to save you. She loved you." Dean told her.

She smiled sadly, "We wouldn't have been on the road if I didn't want to go to see a stupid movie. She wouldn't have died if she had just got out of the car when dad told her to."

"Paul was driving. He should've known better..." Dean said remembering his own father shoving his six month old baby brother in his arms. " There's no excuse good enough for the way he treats you."

Ryan nodded and looked at the rain still steadily falling outside. "I just wanted you to know why I don't like driving in the rain…" She sighed again and rested her head on the window behind her. "This wasn't how I wanted tonight to go-" She said mirroring his own thoughts.

"I'll find us a motel or somethin' when the weather lets up." He told her.

Ryan tucked a strand of hair behind ear and blushed. "Motel?" She murmured gazing over the seat at him, her lips curving into a smile at his potentially loaded statement.

"It'll be a nice one; not one with mirrors on the ceiling or hourly rates." He cleared his throat nervous now that they had time to cool off and she'd just shared one of her worst memories that he stepped over the line. "We can get our own rooms...you don't have to stay with me. I wasn't expecting you to-"

"I don't want my own room." She said cutting through his nervous babble. "And I don't want to wait for the weather to clear up." She took a deep breath and let it out through pursed lips, trying to get her heart to stop the rapid fire rhythm it was beating against her ribs. She gave herself a quick mental 'Atta' girl' pep talk, she could do this, she wanted to do this. She had felt how much Dean had wanted it. Screw bad childhoods and bad weather she wanted Dean Winchester more than anything she ever had before.

Dean watched as she climbed out of the car, nervously straightening her clothes and gently shutting the door behind her. He sat up, scooted to the middle of the seat and wiped his hands on his jeans before trying to surreptitiously adjust the hard on that had come back with a vengeance. His dick was painfully constricted in his jeans and throbbed in time with his heart beat. He wanted nothing more than to undo his fly and take his cock in hand. Actually that wasn't true. He wanted Ryan to unzip his fly, he wanted her soft warm hand to touch him…he wanted to touch her, taste her, be inside of her.

She slid into the seat next to him and it took every ounce of his willpower not to pounce on her. Ryan chewed her bottom lip her blue-grey eyes looked up at him through heavy lashes. He reached one hand out running his fingers lightly along her cheek, she didn't flinch from his touch, she leaned in towards him loving the feel of his calloused fingers on her skin. Their kiss wasn't reality altering or earth shattering this time. It was slow, rekindling the need they had both felt after killing the Rakshasa. When she climbed onto his lap, straddling her legs on either side of him, his hands went to her skirt and yanked it up so he could sink his hands into the soft round curves of her ass. She moaned at the feeling of his hands on her bare skin opening her mouth to his probing tongue, grinding the ache between her legs into him earning a groan from him this time. His lips traveled down her jaw, across her neck leaving a hot trail everywhere they touched. Ryan leaned back to look him in the eyes, he looked as wrecked as she felt. His pupils blown huge in his eyes, lips swollen, breath ragged, the grip on her ass tight and pleasantly painful as he urged her to keep rocking her hips against him. She knew she could put the brakes on right now, get off his lap, tell him she wasn't ready for this sudden, irrevocable change in their friendship and he would accept it without argument.

Instead she grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head in one swift movement. Her bra was the same lacy lite Robin's egg blue that had teased him from the shadows of her skirt. Her hands shook as she reached behind her to unhook it. Dean's eyes burned into her as she slid the thin straps down her arms and dropped the bra on the floorboard with her shirt. A strangled groan escaped his lips as his fingers pressed harder into her back. His imagination had done nothing to prepare him for the soft full breast's he'd felt through her layers of clothes that were now fully exposed to his hungry senses; the faint splash of freckles across her chest that begged to be kissed, the peaked dark pink nipples aching to be touched and licked. His shirt came off next when Ryan pulled it over his head and tossed it away in a rush to have her skin pressed into his. He cupped his hands around each breast, his calloused thumbs flicking across her nipples making them swell and tighten to sensitive rosy buds. Ryan gasped when he leaned forward and took one tender nub in his mouth, kissing and sucking it gently. She ran her hands through his hair enjoying the softness of it running through her fingers and tugged on the short strands when his teeth grazed the sensitive bud between his lips. He tweaked the other nipple between his fingers and her hips jerked forward as the jolt of sensation travelled from the spots Dean continued to lavish attention on straight to her clit. She was coming apart at the seams with Dean's hot wet mouth nipping, sucking, kissing, biting every inch of skin he could get to, his hands never leaving either her ass or breasts unattended. His name left her lips in a quiet breathy prayer, "Please Dean Please...", she ran her hand down his chest and the firm muscles of his stomach until she found the hard bulge in his jeans. She'd probably be embarrassed later about the wet spot she created on the front of his pants by grinding herself against him in search of some relief from the aching need inside of her but for now she didn't care. She wanted to see all of him, feel all of him, give him something even close to the burn of pleasure he was giving her.

He was breathing like he just out run a pack of Devil dogs when he felt her hands caress him through the rough fabric of his jeans. She couldn't get her shaking fingers to cooperate and unclasp his belt. He reached between them gently brushing her hands away so he could get the belt off and zipper down offering him a small amount of relief. Ryan's hands froze on his chest as she suddenly realized she had no fucking idea what to do next; sure she'd read about it, watched a few porn videos here and there but this was real.

Dean rested his head against the seat, his eyes heavy, bottom lip between his teeth, the anticipation of her finally touching him almost enough to make him explode. "I don't know what to do…I've never..." She murmured quietly, barely audible over his pounding heart. He opened his eyes to see her face flushed with embarrassment. He knew that, shit he knew that, she already told him as much with admitting he'd been her first kiss, her first non-date. But she had rolled with the punches so far, her body moving with instinct and need. Now she was lost and he saw her faltering unsurely, worried she was going to upset him with her inexperience.

He wrapped his hands around her, kissing her gently until the tension that had creeped into her dissipated. "You don't have to do anything. Do you really want this? Do you want to give this to me?" He asked as his lips trailed down her neck, across her chest and up the other side of her throat.

She nodded, "Yes please I've always wanted this. I want you."

"I am going to make this so good for you…" He meant every word as he laid her gently on the blanketed seat. He undid the three silver buttons on her skirt and pulled it and her panties over her hips. They shared quick, nervous laughter when those lite blue panties got stuck on her boots. "Probably should've taken those off you first," he said smiling down at her as tried to pull her boots off. "Could you've tied these any tighter?" He muttered fighting against the laces.

Ryan bit her lip to stop the fit of giggles that bubbled up watching Dean fight unsuccessfully with her shoes. "We were on a hunt earlier. Didn't want to trip and break my neck on a loose shoe lace while running away from a monster..." She muttered sitting back up and untying her own boots and kicking them off before slipping her panties over her feet and dropping them onto the rapidly growing pile of discarded clothes.

"Brat..." He responded smiling slyly and pushing her back towards the seat with his body. He ground his hips against her now bare sex. He slipped his hand between them, running his fingers through the tight curls of red hair and down her wet folds. One finger barely teasing her entrance. She gasped and bucked her hips at his touch. "Holy fuck you're so wet." He growled, "God I need to taste you…," before slipping down her body, leaving hot kisses in his wake down the valley of her breasts and across each hip. She sat up on her elbows watching as he drifted lower and lower. He kissed her inner thighs, running his tongue along the wet patches her desire had left there.

Ryan nearly jumped off the seat when his tongue was suddenly inside of her, tasting and probing her, alternating between small flicks and broad strokes but avoiding her swollen, needy clit. Gods that tongue of his was amazing, if he would just put it where she needed it most… "Oh god Dean oh fuck," she keened falling boneless back onto the seat, her hands grasping at the seat she lay on. He growled against her; a primal, possessive noise. She was the sweetest thing he had ever tasted and she was all his. Her hands found the back of his head, tugging at his short hair as he finally moved that amazing mouth of his to her clit. Her hips moved on their own, grinding against his face as his lips and tongue sent her careening into an orgasm that hit her so hard and fast she couldn't even catch her breath to cry out his name. His tongue dipped inside her one last time lapping up the honey sweet nectar dripping from her. Ryan regained enough of her senses to sit up and watch him hungrily as he slowly straightened up enough to push his jeans and boxers off. His cock finally freed from the confines of his clothes, it stood impossibly hard, the head dark red, swollen and leaking shiny clear precum. She stared transfixed as he ran his hand along his length, pumping his shaft in his hand. "D… please." She didn't know she was going to beg until the words were out. She reached for him pulling him towards her greedily; she needed his touch, needed him inside of her now. She knew she sounded strung out and needy, she'd just had the most amazing orgasm of her life to date and was jonesing for more.

Dean moistened his lips with his tongue and stared down at her. Her eyes were trained on his body watching the motion of his hand, her pale skin flushed from stimulation and bearing dozens of the marks he'd left behind to mark her as his, the warm place between her thighs glistening from the work his mouth did. "You ready?" He asked once more.

"Yes." She said on a relieved sigh. He bent back over, resting his weight on her hips and one forearm. Her breath caught as she felt him rub his swollen head on her clit and down her lips collecting the wetness coating her. Part of her brain that was still thinking rationally wanted to be embarrassed at the ever expanding wet spot she was laying on but Dean didn't seem to mind. He turned his head to kiss her, his lips crushing against her as his tongue ran along her bottom lip seeking entrance. She opened to him with a moan, and he slid his tongue against hers all the while gently aligning his cock with her entrance. A momentary fear gripped her, every girl had heard stories about how much the first time hurt. And even with her severely lacking real world experience in this department she was sure Dean was on the blessed end of the spectrum when it came to endowment below the waist. But she'd had pain before, bone breaking, muscle bruising, soul crushing pain and she knew Dean would never cause any of that.

"I will never hurt you," he murmured against her lips seemingly reading her mind and the tight lines that had appeared between her eyebrows.

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and looked into his deep sea-glass green eyes. "I know." She kissed him this time, wrapping her hands around his head, tangling her fingers in his hair and letting her body relax into him. He rocked his hips slowly pushing past her entrance and finally feeling her warm, tight muscles stretching around him. He groaned into her mouth, every ounce of self control focused on not cumming. She felt so good wrapped around him, better than anything his wet dreams could ever come up with. He promised her he was going to make this good and he meant to keep his promise. He felt the thin veil of resistance inside her, the last thing separating them from being completely joined at least for a little while. With another rock of his hips the resistance was gone and he slipped further inside her as she let out a sharp gasp, her fingernails digging into his back as she rode out the unfamiliar pain of being stretched open. "Oh fuck Dean oh fuck." She moaned underneath him, her hips rolling against his.

He pulled out slightly afraid he'd gone too deep for her first time, that he was hurting her. "Oh fuck baby I'm sorry, am I hurting you? I've never done this, I'm trying to be gentle…" But her grip on his back tightened preventing him from going anywhere.

She shook her head quickly, grinding her hips against him again. "No, D, please I need…I need-" She bit her lip not knowing exactly what she needed just knowing if that tight coil in her belly and the throbbing in clit didn't get some relief she might explode. Dean let himself slide back inside her and her head fell back on the seat, eyes fluttering closed as the most serene smile turned up the corners of her lips. He knew what she needed, he needed it to. His sped up his pace slowly constantly making sure she didn't show any signs of pain or discomfort until he hit a rhythm that had her gasping and clawing at his back. The sounds she made were sinful music to ears, sending blood rushing to his cock; he wanted to feel her cum around him, wanted to watch her face this time as she fell off that edge. The coil snapped, her back arching off the seat, fingernails dragging red lines down his back marking him. The shockwaves of her climax pulled at him, her hot juices leaking around him coating both their thighs was enough to send him tumbling into his own orgasm. Black spots appeared in his vision as his brain misfired, focusing solely on the pleasure of sending her straight into another orgasm. Her muscles pulling at him greedily as she prayed his name. He fucked her through it, until he felt himself finally, thankfully growing soft, the painful hardness he had over the last several days finally abated now that he'd spilled everything he had inside her. His kiss this time was slow, lazy almost, enjoying the feel of her tired lips against his. Her hands running up and down the muscles of his back soothingly, trying to ease the fiery trail of scratches he could feel there. He'd wear those marks with pride, almost wishing they were deep enough to scar to show the world how good this had been for her.

"You ok?" He murmured gently slipping out of her.

She winced slightly but nodded. She was sore now that the euphoria had lifted but a good sore. "Yeah." He positioned them around on the seat so he could lay down, pulling her body half on his and wrapping his arms protectively around her. The soft, warm cuddling in the afterglow was almost as good as the sex she'd just had. Almost. She listened to his heart slow down, his heavy breathing even out, his arms relax but still keep her close as he drifted into a lite sleep. Her fingers trailed along the muscles of his arms and chest, fingers following the ridges of scars, the tight V- shaped muscles of his lower abdomen she'd dreamed about dragging her mouth across, to his hips and down his thighs. She was already wet again, Dean and his body had made her an addict. She shifted the leg she had wrapped around his lap and he let out a bemused laugh. "What so funny?" Ryan asked sitting up to look at him.

He foggy eyes drifted open to look back at her. "I just need a few more minutes to recuperate is all…"

Ryan bit her bottom lip, again embarrassed at how much she needed him, how much the ache between her thighs needed to be filled again. "Can I ask you something?" She said quietly, letting her fingers continue making hot trails on his skin. Dean nodded and grunted an 'mmmhhmm' as his eyes drifted closed again. "You said you've never done that before-"

He smiled, "With a virgin…I've never been somebody's first."

She nodded unsurely. "Was it ok?"

Dean opened his eyes again meeting her nervous stare. "Yeah babygirl that was the best I've ever had. How about you?"

Ryan smiled and shrugged her shoulders, "Well it was the only sex I've ever had…so I guess by default yes?"

Dean laughed again feeling life spring back to his cock. "Smartass." He murmured pulling her body fully onto his lap. He hoped the storm didn't end anytime soon because the night was young and they still had a lot of miles to travel.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch 7

Authors note: More Sex up ahead. Plot also.

They finally let each other sleep sometime before dawn. Wrapped together, sweaty, spent, sore in the most fantastic ways and both content for the first time in a long, long time. Dean woke first listening to Ryan's soft snores where she lay splayed on top of him, her chin tucked under his head, her long hair tickling his nose. They were both still naked from the previous nights activities. He looked down at the car floor to their tangled clothes and the pile of used condoms he had decided they should use when it became apparent they weren't going to be satisfied after one or two rounds.

They had done a lot of things last night, starting with the basics and tiptoeing into more adventurous territory with Dean's willing guidance and Ryan's quick realization that sex with him was awesome. She had already found a few favorites and tried out some of his. Neither one had been willing to throw in the towel; the more they got the more they wanted until it had been more of a mutual disarmament. Dean honestly couldn't remember ever having a night like that. He smiled when she shifted slightly, his hands firmly in place on each of her asscheeks anchoring her to him so she wouldn't slide off the narrow back seat. They'd called a truce shortly after Ryan had gone down him. The memory of her slowly swallowing him, looking up at him to see how much he was enjoying it, the way she flicked her tongue along his slit and moaned happily at his taste, her lite coppery hair brushing against the sensitive skin on his thighs when her head moved in his lap until he came with a string of groaned curses in her mouth ….and now he had a hard-on again. She moved on top of him , her naked breasts dragging across his chest as she snuggled her face into his neck. He couldn't stop the groan when her soft thigh nudged him in just the right spot. Her hand slowly slid down his chest and came to rest on his morning woody. "Mmmm….good morning," she murmured against his neck.

Dean laughed, "I thought you were asleep."

"I was." She replied using his chest as leverage to push herself up and straddle his waist. "You woke me up." She lifted herself up just enough to guide his cock inside of her. She winced at the stretch of sore muscles before finding her rhythm. Yeah this was definitely his favorite and he was glad she enjoyed it too. He had the perfect view of her bouncing tits as she rode him, of him disappearing inside of her again and again, of her face as she threw her head back and made the most divine sound when she came. He watched her ride out the waves of her 'good morning' orgasm until she fell forward bracing her arms on his chest still rocking her hips against him trying to get him to his peak even though she was physically exhausted. He wrapped his hands around her hips and thrust up into her, fucking her so hard she grunted in time with his thrusts until he groaned his release; amazed he still had anything to give; he was sure she had just about wrung him dry. 'God damn virgins,' he thought as he came down. Why had no one warned him about this? Or was this just what it was like when you actually dug the person you were getting naked with?

"Good morning," Dean murmured against her lips when she leaned forward to kiss him. "I hope you know this is how we're going to wake up from now on." He ground his hips upward to drive home his point.

"From now on?" She asked dipping her head to hide her face behind a veil of hair.

Dean nodded, sliding his hands down her thighs. "Yeah you know until…"

"Until…" She repeated her voice held only the tiniest bit of melancholy. Ryan didn't have time to reflect further because her stomach growled loudly. Her hands went to her abdomen trying to silence the monstrous noise escaping her.

Dean laughed, "Thats the sexiest noise you've made yet."

She slapped his chest and sat up tossing her hair away from her face, "Shut up. I'm starving."

"Me too." Dean said sitting up and wrapping his arms around her so she wasn't jostled from her position on his lap. "Maybe we should get dressed and go find some grub?" Ryan sighed and nodded as he slipped out from inside her.

After they got dressed Dean surveyed the damage the storm had left behind. The dirt road they had floated down last night was a muddy mess this morning but drivable from what he could tell. A few trees lay blackened and twisted . Ryan gave up trying to comb the tangles out of her hair with her fingers and wrapped it up into a top knot. She tried again to straighten the bent frame on her glasses but also gave that up as a lost cause. She bundled up the soft tan flannel blanket they had made love on, a bright red bullseye marked the spot where she had given her virginity to Dean. He walked up to her with his hands in his pockets, his cheeks turning a lite pink when he saw the blood on the blanket. "I'm pretty sure I can get the stain out…" She told him tucking the blanket in the trunk.

"You ok?" He asked.

Ryan nodded and shivered in the cool morning air. The storm last night seemed to have finally pushed the warm weather out and ushered in the beginning of a cold Montana winter. "Last night wasn't a 'pinch' was it?" She asked.

"Wh-what?" Dean asked with an incredulous laugh.

Ryan crossed her arms over her chest protectively feeling more naked and vulnerable baring her emotions to him then she did when they'd been actually naked, "Last night meant a lot to me. And I just need to know it meant something to you too…I don't want to be the girl you fuck in a pinch."

"You'll never be a pinch." He told her lifting her chin up so she would meet his eyes. "Last night was amazing." He brushed his lips across her, gently kissing the worry away. "I'd love to remind you how amazing it was but this warrior needs food badly."

She snorted laughter, "I'm so gonna kick your ass at Gauntlet later."

They found a diner a short time later. Ryan tried reading the menu with out her glasses. Dean watched her across the booth as she squinted, tried keeping one eye closed than the other, moved the menu back and forth and finally grumbled in annoyance and put on her bent glasses. He laughed under his breath as she muttered about the tiny font. "French toast….with powdered sugar, strawberries , coffee, orange juice." Ryan told the waitress as she scratched their orders on to her pad. Dean seconded the order and added bacon with his.

"What are you going to do about your glasses?" He asked as she took them off and tucked them back into her sweater.

She shrugged, "I gotta few pairs I can probably Frankenstein together until I can get a new pair."

Their food and coffee was delivered a few minutes later and they ate and drank in silence, enjoying each others company. Dean's cell rang just as the waitress was refilling their coffee. "It's dad." He said flipping the phone open. "Hey dad…yeah just waxing the car like you told me to…Ryan? Yeah I guess she's around here somewhere…" Dean smiled across the table at her as she stuck a strawberry in her mouth. He went silent at whatever his father said next. "Tomorrow? Yeah…yeah I can't wait to get out of Montana. I've seen enough sheep to last me a life time."

Ryan picked up her cup of coffee and stared blankly at the steam drifting from it. The rest of Deans conversation was drowned out over the buzzing in her ears. Tomorrow? What happened to the list of cases? Tomorrow her father would be home. She would have to face him one more time before she was free. And Dean couldn't wait to be rid of her. "Ryan…you ok?" Dean's voice broke her out of her trance and she blinked several times. She couldn't hide the shine of tears that burned her eyes. So much for last night being special. He didn't have to pretend anymore knowing he finally had a ticket out.

He reached his hand across the table and she pulled her hands into her lap before he could grasp it. "I'm ready to go home." She said flatly.

Dean leaned back blowing out an annoyed breath. "Whats your problem?"

Ryan shook her head looking out the window to the Impala. "Just want to make sure you're ready to get the fuck out of here as soon as your dad gets back." Her voice cracked bitterly as she slid out of the seat and stalked towards the door. The bell above the door dinged loudly when Ryan shoved it open.

"Smooth move jackass." Dean muttered dropping money on the table and following Ryan out of the restaurant. She was already buckled in and ready to go, pressed as close to the door as she could be and still ride in the car. He silently climbed into the car and sat with his hands on the steering wheel for several long seconds. "Look, sweetheart…we knew how this was going to go. They had to come back sometime." She sat silently staring out the window. "What did you want me to say to him?"

"Don't call me sweetheart it's as bad as being called 'kid'...Just forget it. I need a shower and I want to make sure all my shit is packed." Ryan muttered.

He clenched his hands around the steering wheel. "I couldn't tell him the truth."

"What truth? We went on a hunt, we fucked, it's over. You never wanted to be here. I get it..."

"I'm not going with him…" Dean told her quietly.

"What?" She said looking at him; the wave of hurt and anger she felt building receded a tiny bit.

"I'm not going with him. I'm going with you…If the offer still stands—"

"Seriously?" Ryan said turning towards him and releasing the belt across her lap.

He nodded, "Fuck those assholes. I want out. I want you-"

She was across the seat and climbing back into his lap."You want me?" She murmured kissing him and running her tongue over his bottom lip before he opened his mouth to her. Her hands, no longer shaking or unsure, went to the zipper on his jeans.

"I want you ," he said kissing her neck as his eyes drifted back to the restaurant where he noticed the elderly couple that had been sitting in the booth next to them staring out, "all to myself. But I think we're getting an audience."

"I need you now…so I guess you should move the fucking car." She told him.

"Language princess." He admonished playfully as he revved the engine and reversed them out of the parking spot. She wasn't getting off his lap anytime soon and there was no where else for them to go besides behind the building so that's where he drove them. "I think I've created a monster." Dean said smiling at her.

She pulled his dick out of his pants and sunk down onto him with a happy sigh. "You're a hunter. I'm sure you know how to deal with a monster like me." Fuck. He was ruined. Officially. She had just done it. There was no going back. There was no getting past this. No getting past her. 'Son of a bitch.' He thought.

The drive back to her cabin was subdued. They spent the time talking about where they would like to go, what they would do for money, how Dean really felt about giving up hunting. She repacked her car as soon as they got back, well after Dean washed the car and they shared a shower which was another awesome first. Dean left his duffle bag by the front door. He was adamant about talking to his father; telling him 'man to man' as he put it why he was leaving. But so help Paul Toryn if he tried to get in the way. Dean had a bullet with the bastard drunks name on it ready in the chamber of his favorite pistol.

They fell asleep naked in Ryan's bed that night after more sex followed by a dinner of fried rice and egg foo young with extra gravy watching their three favorite 'All Saints' Day' sequels on her laptop. He woke up first again and watched her sleep for a few minutes. Her face all but buried in a pile of pillows to block the thin streams of light leaking in through her window. She let out a tired groan, pulling the pillows tighter against her face and trying to burrow into the soft darkness. The sheets around her waist slipped down revealing the bottom that made the rockin' world go round. "You awake?" He asked sliding closer to her on the small mattress, his hand caressed her lower back and over the curves that felt so amazing pressed against him.

She shook her head under the pile of pillows. "No," came her muffled answer.

"That's a shame," he said tossing her cocoon of pillows away until he uncovered her face. "I though we'd have time for one more first."

She looked over her shoulder at him. Her eyes were rimmed in red and face pale. "God, Dean I don't want to see him…I'm afraid of what he might do."

"Its gonna be all right. I just need a few minutes with my dad and then we'll be gone. You'll never have to see him again. He will never lay his hands on you again. I swear," Dean said pulling her close to him. She nodded wrapping his arms tighter against her. She felt small and weak, she could hunt monsters without breaking into a million pieces but the thought of facing her pissed off father always left her shaking. He was the monster she knew inside and out and yet never knew what to expect. He might cuss her out for taking two shots to take down a werewolf running at full speed or break her nose for over cooking his steak.

Ryan let out a long shuddering breath. They could do this. They were going to do this. They were both finally going to get away. "What first were we going to check off today?" She asked again looking over her shoulder at him.

Yep. Ruined. Screwed. In way over his head- How did this even happen? He thought to himself. The nerdy, smartass brat that had been the most annoying part of his tumultuous childhood had turned into the nerdy, smartass, sexy woman he was officially crazy about. She squirmed in the sheets, making like she was going to get out of bed or turn over. Dean's arm around her tightened, preventing her from moving. "Early morning lazy sex." His voice husky in her ear, teeth dragging along the shell of her ear. She felt the head of his cock brush against her folds. He groaned deep in his chest once he was fully sheathed inside of her. His shallow thrusts hitting just the right spots inside of her.

"Oh…I love you, Dean." Ryan breathed as Dean brought her closer and closer to release. His hips faltered and stalled and her brain caught up to what she had just said out loud. She bit her lip nervously and chanced a glance over her shoulder at him. "I didn't mean to say that out loud…I just made this weird. I'm sorry-" Dean stared back at her, his eyes dark and unsure. She felt him pull out of her leaving her empty and for the first time, unsatisfied. "D, I didn't…"

He rolled her onto her back, planted his hands on either side of her and looked down at her with the same dark unreadable eyes. "Either you meant it or you didn't mean it. Which is it?" He quietly demanded. She blushed deeply, her pale skin lighting up like she was sunburned. This man had been inside her in almost every way, watched her come undone, seen her fight, seen her lose and now he was looking at her waiting for something else.

"Fuck." She groaned covering her face with her hands. The intensity in his eyes too much to meet. "I meant it. Ok? I'm not going to be weird or clingy...I love you. I've loved you for fucking ever…-" He pushed her knees apart with his hips and buried himself to the hilt inside of her in one hard smooth move. Ryans breath caught in her throat, her hands dropping from her face (now flushed for better reasons) and clawed at the mess of blankets under her. She wrapped her legs around his hips digging her heels into the flexing muscles of his ass as he rammed into her. If she'd been allowed to have a bed back the headboard would probably be making a dent in the wall with the furious pace he was currently setting. As it was he was slamming her up the mattress closer and closer to the wall. Dean locked his lips onto hers possessively, his warm tongue running along hers, swallowing her scream when she came. The waves of her orgasm, the feeling of her muscles pulling him in tighter was enough for him to find his release. He collapsed on top of her in a sweaty, spent mess. Ryan left a trail of featherlight kisses along his shoulders and neck, fingers running along the tight muscles of his back. The beckon of sleep pulled on both of them again but before they could fall under its spell the faint echo of a high pitched wheezing squeal echoed through the trees outside and into the cabin. Ryan stiffened under him, her hands wrapping around him and said in a frightened whisper, "They're back."

Dean climbed off of her, kissing her once more before gathering up his clothes. "Get dressed, it's gonna be ok." He glanced over his shoulder before shutting himself in his room across the hall. She quickly dressed doing her best to hide the marks on her neck and chest Dean had left, stuffed her car keys in to her pocket and darted down the stairs and into the kitchen to get the coffee pot started. She got to the front porch just as her father heaved himself out of his truck, John got out of the passenger seat a step later and stretched the kinks out of his back.

"Coffee better be ready." Paul threatened as he limped up to her.

Ryan nodded, "Yes sir. Hot and fresh." She always felt tiny and breakable in his presence. He knew it, he had used his size and strength her entire life to instill fear and obedience. Nan had been the buffer, the only person who could tell Paul Toryn to stand down and had kept his violence mostly in check.

"Get our gear out of the truck and make breakfast." He barked limping towards the screen door. He paused before entering the house, one giant hand holding the screen door open. "You fix the porch lights?"

"Yes." She lied. She hadn't touched them since her first attempt. If he tested them now he'd instantly know she had just lied to his face. Hopefully the beckon of hot coffee and strong whiskey would be enough to distract him. He mumbled something under his breath and disappeared into the house. Her hand went to the key in her pocket and she held it for a brief second before walking towards the truck where John was busy unloading his bags and weapons.

"Where's Dean?" John asked turning his eyes towards the freshly washed and waxed Impala.

Ryan shrugged, "I guess he's still asleep." She felt his eyes on her, inspecting her and she dipped her head away, swinging her fathers heavy duffel bag onto her shoulder.

"He treat you good?" He said.

Ryan faltered for a second before nodding, hoping her hair would cover the heat in her cheeks. "Yes, sir...John. We uhm just tried to stay out of each other's way mostly." She said turning towards the cabin as John popped the trunk open on the Impala.

"You two get that transmission figured out?" He called.

Ryan paused again. "Yeah...yeah I think we did." He followed her into the cabin and they met Dean slowly walking down the stairs shrugging into his jacket. Their eyes met briefly as she passed him heading to the second floor to store her father's bag and keep his weapons far from hand.

"The hunt go ok?" She heard Dean ask his father as she tossed the duffel bag onto Paul's bed, he could unload his shit himself for all she cared anymore. She glanced around the room that had belonged to her grandmother. Every trace of the woman erased by her fathers poisonous presence. The whole cabin in fact seemed to be disintegrating around them, everything once held together by Nan's love now gone to rot and ruin. Ryan knew she would never come back here, never step foot back in her room overflowing with memories (good and bad), never swim in the quarry, or disappear into the woods for hours seeking solace. The car key in her pocket pulled her back downstairs like a talisman.

"What are you talking about dad? The demon? We haven't had a lead on it in years-" She paused on the stairs listening to Dean and his father.

"Listen to me son," John's fervent voice broke through. "We met a psychic...an old medicine man on the Rez while we were in Colorado and he had a vision. A demon with yellow eyes- yellow eyes Dean!" John's voice rose in octaves with zealous glee. "He said it would be somewhere in Missouri. All we have to do is look for omens then we can track it!"

Ryan continued her slow decent down the stairs back to the landing between the kitchen and living room where Dean and his father spoke. She heard cabinets in the kitchen slam shut as Paul searched for something. "Then what?" Dean asked tucking his hands in his pockets. "We find the demon, then what? There ain't no way to kill it. To even stop it besides exorcising it. We do that and it jumps into another meat suit."

"God damn it Dean!" John yelled pacing in the living room.

"Ryan!" Paul's voice shook through the house. "Where's my god damn breakfast you useless bitch!" Ryan jumped at the sound of her fathers angry voice. Dean looked over his shoulder at her before turning back to his father.

"We will find something! I've been researching and I'm so close... this is the thing that murdered your mother! That destroyed our family!" John clasped his hands on Deans shoulders and stared at his eldest son. "This is for our family. What we've been searching for all these years. We are going to make that son of a bitch pay."

She saw Dean nod. "Yeah ok dad." His voice dimmed and her ears filled with a whooshing sound like she was listening to the waves inside of a seashell. She saw John's face brighten realizing he'd won without a fight. She was rooted to the spot, her fathers increasingly angered voice trying to chip through the wall she was already rebuilding to protect herself. Then Dean was in front of her, looking down at her murmuring something. She blinked and shook her head to clear the fog only catching the last bits of what Dean was saying- "Ryan...I can't...I can't leave him to go after the demon alone. We can finish this once and for all. We can end it."

Ryan swallowed thickly, her hand once again going to the car key in her pocket. "It's never gonna end." She told him quietly.

"I'll find you when this is all over." He said stepping closer to her sensing his father standing behind them now. This was between them, he would answer to his father later if he pressed Dean for answers.

The kitchen door slammed open behind her as her father limped through it. She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Good bye Dean." She murmured placing a hand on his chest before walking past him and out the front door.

"Where the hell do you think you're going!" Paul yelled after her. She didn't look back or slow down. She didn't pray that Trixie would start she just knew she would. Then the cabin was in her rear view mirror, the visage of her fathers angry red face being left in the cloud of dirt and Dean standing silently by watching her leave.

"Where the hell is she going son?" John asked quietly as the Charger disappeared into the trees.

Dean shook his head, "I don't know. Can we get the hell out of here?"

Authors note: read, review, follow. PM me, whatever. thanks as always for reading


	8. Chapter 8

Ch 8

A lot can happen in seven years.

You can graduate law school, marry the girl of your dreams, have 2.5 kids, own a charming house in the suburbs with a white picket fence. A true apple pie life... if you're Joe Nobody.

If you're Sam Winchester the girl of your dreams gets burned alive on your ceiling along with the dreams of that apple pie life.

And that's just the beginning; your brother can die, your father can die, you can die...and yet two of you can still be sitting in the front seat of a 1967 Chevy Impala driving to parts unknown with only the vaguest of plans. Sam shook his head to clear it of the melancholy thoughts that clung to him as of late and looked across the seat at his older brother. Dean was performing a Van Halen air guitar solo while driving at least fifty over the speed limit. "Sammy, I'm hungry how 'bout you?" He yelled over the ear drum piercing screech of an electric guitar.

Sam cursed under his breath and turned the volume on the stereo down. "Dean we just ate a few hours ago. I thought we were going to try and make it to that tent revival before they pack up."

Dean grumbled, "Yeah well I'm hungry. I got a finite amount of time left and I'm gonna spend it eating, drinking, and screwing as many chicks as I can." He turned he volume back up and loudly sang along to 'Hot for Teacher'. They barreled past a faded road side sign advertising an all night diner: Jay's Good Eats- 15 miles. Dean pointed to it as if it were a divine sign from God himself.

Sam pushed his shaggy hair out of his face and let out an annoyed breath. Dean had spent the last few months pissing his life away. Dean, his older brother, his role model, had less than five months left to live. Not because he was sick with something as mundane as cancer but because he had sold his soul. Hell was on their heels and getting closer every day.

Why? Because John and Dean hadn't found ol' yellow-eyes in Missouri; the Show-Me state was blessedly free of demonic omens when they had driven away from the Toryn cabin all those years ago. When Dean had let Ryan drive away with her plans for a new life. She had been right when she told him it would never end. It had been almost another five years before they had even learned the demons name: Azazel, the First Knight of Hell. That's when the real fun began. After months of cat and mouse Azazel attacked the Winchester's causing a terrible car crash, completely wrecking the Impala and nearly killing Dean in the process. John, their cold, distant father, gave his soul to Azazel to save Dean but the party didn't stop there. He kidnapped Sam and threw him into the middle of the Demonic version of the Hunger Games. And Sam had been killed, stabbed in the back and died in his brothers arms.

So Dean made a deal. A stupid, short sighted deal made by a broken, lonely, self-loathing man. For his soul, he was given twelve months to 'settle his affairs'. One year before the Hell Hounds came for blood. Sam felt like Dean didn't care anymore; their father was dead and gone and soon he would be too. Sam would be free once and for all; or so that's what Dean wanted to believe.

So they hunted things and saved people; Dean ate every slice of pie and fried treat he could get his hands on, found his way into as much pussy as would take him and lied to Sam when he said he didn't want to be saved. There was no way out of a demon deal and if he tried to break the contract the crossroads demon promised Sam would be the one that paid the price. When everything was said and done, when Dean was dragged to Hell in a few short months Sam would be left alone.

But recently Sam had got his older brother to at least take a mild interest in any potential ways to save himself from Hell, as long as it didn't get in the way of his women, whiskey and sin. They were supposed to be on their way to an Evangelical tent revival where the Preacher swore he had been to Hell (literally) and back. Now they'd probably crash in some shitty motel in the middle of nowhere Tennessee while Dean got his fill of whatever bar bunny would have him. "Bacon double cheeseburger, onion rings...and pie. Love me some pie." Dean muttered under his breath as the Van Halen album ended and the Impala chewed up the miles between them and another hot meal. Sam rolled his eyes and exhaled out his annoyance.

The diner appeared off the interstate, it's facade designed to look like an old-timey train diner car. The green paint faded from decades in the Tennessee sun. A bug zapper glowed bright blue a few feet from the entrance and every few seconds an unlucky bug met its end in a bright flash of light. It was late enough at night that most of the diner's regulars had already left and too early for the blurry-eyed truckers stopping in for a caffeine fix. Those left were semi-drunk sopping up excess alcohol with pancakes, a couple of Sheriff Deputies on the swing shift and now the Winchester's. "I gotta hit the head." Dean announced when they entered the diner and were greeted with a 'Seat Yourself' sign. He took off following the wood signs pointing towards the restrooms. One waitress bustled between the half dozen tables filling coffee cups and taking orders while a second waitress chatted with the cops sitting at the counter. Out of habit Sam chose a booth with a clear view of the front doors, the kitchen and most of the other customers.

The decor inside the diner was attempting a retro-50's feel. The walls plastered with replica posters for Elvis and The Beach Boys. A broken jukebox sat dim and forlorn in a corner. Dusty records hung from the ceiling dangling on fishing line, the waitress expertly ducked and dodged around them as she delivered plates of food. Sam was figuring odds in his head on at least one of them coming down with food poisoning when the starchy swish a skirt signaled the waitresses arrival at their table. "Coffee?" She asked.

"Two please." Sam answered staring at the stained laminated menu and glancing up only momentarily to offer a congenial smile. The waitress had already turned away and swopped behind the bar to grab cups and more coffee off the warmer. The deputies called their goodbyes to the women in the cotton candy pink uniforms and the line cook as they dropped cash on the counter for the bill and tip.

"Be safe you two!" The older waitress called to the deputies as they left. Sam looked up from the menu as the waitress returned. She set two cups down and sloshed hot black coffee into both of them glancing behind her at the drunks a few booths back that got noticeably louder the moment the patrol car pulled out of the lot. "You know what you want or you gotta wait for your friend?" She asked smiling down at him. Her voice held none of the Tennessee drawl he was expecting. Her ugly pink uniform was dotted with coffee and ketchup stains and stood in stark contrast to her pale skin and dark rimmed glasses. She had lite ginger hair twisted back into a simple braid, strands of it falling loose to frame her face after a night of running between tables. Sam saw a familiar sigil tattooed on her inner right wrist, a pentagram surrounded by protective flames, when she raised her hand to push her glasses back up her nose. He smirked; ever since Bobby had re-discovered the anti-possession sigil in a centuries old Hunter's journal it had spread through the hunting community like wildfire. Every hunter they ran into had it tattooed somewhere.

Sam shouldn't pry about her ink but he knew Dean would notice it right away. With her coppery hair, Wednesday Adams pale skin, and glasses that basically screamed she was a fan of artsy foreign film she definitely was not Dean's normal night-time-friend-type. Find the drunk-but-not-too-drunk preferably blonde with big tits and Dean was like a heat seeking missile headed straight towards easily spreadable legs. But knowing his brother and from the looks of this town, the bar had closed early and his choices would be slim. Maybe Sam could get the first swing this time and leave Dean on the bench. "That's an interesting tattoo…" He paused searching out her name tag on her uniform. "Ryan…Ryan?"

She blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Congrats Chief, you can read. Maybe you should try to read the menu and tell me what you want."

Sam smirked and looked up at her. He could see the young girl she had been underneath the tired eyes and growing annoyance; the girl that had fearlessly dived from the top of the rocks at an old quarry then immediately been grounded by her diminutive yet fierce grandmother. "Ryan Toryn?" He asked slowly.

Her demeanor instantly stiffened. She rolled her shoulders back and narrowed her eyes behind her glasses. She gripped the little pad of paper in her hand tighter as she evaluated the potential threat in front of her. "Who the hell are you?" She ground out.

"It's me…Sam- Sam Winchester."

Ryan tilted her head and looked at the young man in front of her. Sam Winchester was a short chubby nerd. This guy had cheek bones cut from granite, a fit build that his jacket and layers of flannel couldn't hide and he was tall, real tall from the ways his knees were folded under the table. But his eyes…his eyes were familiar. Soft and kind. Hazel orbs flecked with gold. "Sammy?" His name left her lips barely above a whisper. He laughed again and this time the laugh was also familiar. An echo from years ago: swimming with her friends, playing video games in the living room, and Dean. Dean who she couldn't help but think about every day. Sam jumped up from the table and before she could brace herself, swooped her into a tight bear hug, picking her several inches off the floor like she weighed nothing at all.

"No way! No Way! I can't believe it! Ryan T-"

Ryan put a finger to his lips cutting him off, "I don't go by that last name anymore. I haven't for a long, long time." She paused and smiled up at him. "This just isn't fair! I used to be two inches taller than you!"

"I like it better this way. You're as tiny as Nan."

"Shut up. I'm 5'6''. I'm seven inches taller than Nan was. You're just a genetic freak….What the hell are you doin' here, Sammy? I thought you would be some big shot fancy lawyer by now." She said as he slid back into the booth.

His features fell slightly before he composed himself. "Nah…couldn't leave Dean to handle the family business on his own…"

"Dean…Dean is with you?" Ryan asked nervously tucking another piece of hair behind her ear.

Sam nodded his head. "Yeah...here he comes. Dean! Man guess who this is," He yelled to his older brother as he walked up to the booth checking the messages on his phone.

Dean tucked his cellphone back in his pocket and stoped in his tracks staring at the woman in front of him. She was more beautiful than he remembered. The south side of her twenties were treating her well. She looked softer, more relaxed than she had the last time he'd seen her. The edge of wariness gone like she no longer expected to be hit or pushed around. "Ryan?" His voice shook slightly as he raised his hand wanting to touch her face and run his fingers through her hair. He stopped before making contact noting Sam's confused face and dropped his hand awkwardly to his side. "What-what are you doing here?"

"I work here..." She answered smiling nervously. Jay, the owner and line cook, gave the order bell an agitated ding and she looked over her shoulder him. He scowled at her and jabbed his spatula at the plates of food to be delivered. "And I should get back to work if I want to keep my job...I'll be right back to take your orders." She said before backing away.

"You wanna tell me what that was all about?" Sam asked smirking at Dean as he watched her hand out plates of food to the drunks a few tables down.

"What?" Dean asked not taking his eyes off of Ryan. She must have felt his stare because she looked at him several times and smiled.

"That…," Sam pointed at Dean's stupid grin, "How the hell did you recognize her so fast?"

Dean laughed, "Dude its Ryan. She's looks the same she did the last time I saw her...she looks better."

Sam shook his head, "When was the last time you saw her? Because the last time I saw her she had coke bottle glasses and a double chin."

"It was a few years back. You were still at Stanford. Dad went on a hunt with her old man. I was injured. We had a week to just hang out…" He said as she slipped back to their table with pen and order pad back in hand.

She smiled at Dean again unable to hide the slight blush in her cheeks. "Long time no see, Winchester. You start your ex-wife collection yet?"

"Brat." He replied dragging his teeth along his bottom lip. Sam's eyebrows disappeared under his long hair as he watched the awkward flirting across the booth. Dean chewed on his bottom lip, eyes roaming over her as he didn't even try to hide the fact that he was mentally undressing her.

Ryan seemed to shake some sense into herself and remembered Sam was also present. "You guys aren't in town for a case are you?"

"We're just passing through. Headed to Oklahoma for a thing." Sam told her.

Dean watched transfixed as she tapped the capped end of her pen on her lips considering Sam's evasiveness. "You still in the business ?" He asked.

She shook her head, "I'm out...for the most part but I keep tabs on things. Don't want any nasty surprises rolling into town…so you guys want to eat?" She changed the subject away from herself.

"Yeah sweetheart, we'll take a couple of bacon cheeseburgers," Dean started.

Ryan grimaced and shook her head, "I wouldn't if I were you."

"Ummm…how 'bout the chicken fried steak then?"

She shook her head again, "Definitely not."

"What do you suggest?" Sam said laughing.

She tucked the pen behind her ear and leaned down conspiratorially, "Honestly the food here fucking sucks. Jay's retiring in a couple months, already has a corporate buyer taking over this place but…. it was Inez's birthday today," she nodded at the older waitress clearing tables, "And I brought in a home made blackberry pie. I might have two slices left in the ice box."

"I love pie," Dean murmured.

Ryan bit her bottom lip, "I remember." She let out a breath and looked quickly between the brothers. "Look I'm off in an hour…I don't live too far from here. I'll make us dinner. I've got a big place, lots of rooms. You two can crash with me for a day or two if you want. We can catch up… Unless you guys really have to hit the road?"

"Actually we really did need to get to that thing in Oklahoma- ow!" Sam yelped when Dean kicked his shin under the table.

Dean shook his head and glared at his younger brother. "There's nothing in Oklahoma we need to get to."

"Your husbands not gonna mind you bringing two strange men over in the middle of the night?" Sam asked reaching down to rub where Dean had just kicked him and trying to redirect his older brother to the task of saving his soul.

"I'm chronically single Sammy but thanks for checking. So you two want to come over? The Super Nintendo finally crapped out a few years ago but I'm sure I can find something else to entertain us."

"Count us in." Dean answered glaring at his younger brother.

She smiled again making her whole face brighten. "And the pie?"

"Hell yeah, princess." Dean answered. She went to turn away from the table and Dean grabbed her hand. He didn't know what possessed him besides the need to touch her, see if her skin was as soft as he remembered. It was.

She squeezed his hand then released it and ran her fingers along his jaw, "I'll be back with your pie." Damn. Damn. Damn. How did he do that? Seven years gone in an instant. He was Dean, the same Dean she'd known practically her entire life. The same Dean she'd been in love with since she was old enough to know what those feelings meant. The same Dean she'd given herself to over, and over, and over…and over again. She felt her cheeks grow warm and took a deep breath; she was too old for this school girl crush bullshit.

"Who is that?" Inez asked her as she walked into the kitchen. Ryan shook her head, trying to clear it of the fog that always seemed to creep in when Dean was involved.

"Who?" She asked innocently reaching into the ancient stainless steel fridge to retrieve the pie she had promised to the Winchesters.

Jay and Inez shared a chuckle. "You've worked here how long? Five years?" the grumpy old line cook asked.

Ryan shrugged placing the last two slices of pie on a couple of plates, "And?"

"And I ain't never seen you smile like that. Except when you talk about Elie."

"They're friends. I haven't seen them in a long time," Ryan said over her shoulder as she walked out of the kitchen carrying the pie and more coffee.

Dean shifted in his seat like an excited puppy, he wasn't sure if he was more excited about the prospect of homemade pie or a few more minutes with Ryan. She set the plates in front of them and refilled their cups of coffee. "Ok, well enjoy and I'll meet you outside when I'm done with my shift."

She circled around the diner serving coffee and clearing tables leaving the brothers to their pie. Dean cut into his slice and hummed happily. "Love me some pie…oh yeah," He groaned obscenely as the sweet filling and flaky crust touched his tongue. "Baby girl this is awesome!" He yelled across the restaurant at Ryan as she stacked dirty plates. She jumped and dropped a coffee cup which crashed to the ground earning a round of applause from the drunks at the table behind them. Even from across the restaurant Sam could see that her face now matched the pink of her uniform. Jay and Inez snickered as Ryan spun on her heels holding her index finger to her lips telling Dean to 'shush!'.

"Baby girl?" Sam repeated. His eyebrows furrowed and he worked out the impossible equation before him: his brother flirting unabashedly with Ryan Toryn and she was handing it back almost as good.

"It's just a nickname..." Dean said lamely.

"I've never heard you call anyone that...Wait….did you? You didn't...You and Ryan?" Dean shoveled another pice of pie into his mouth and tried to ignore his brothers stare. "Holy shit. Dude-"

"Shut up Sammy. It's not what you think." Dean mumbled into his pie.

"Ryan Toryn…you slept with Ryan. How the hell did you get away with that? If her father had found out he would've killed you. Dad would'a killed you…" Sam continued almost in awe at his brothers guts.

"Dad knew…at least I think he knew. It's not like we ever talked about it…." Dean said. "We had a thing. A quick thing. It didn't go anywhere."

Sam cut into his own slice of pie and looked at his brother. This was more truth he'd gotten out of him in months. Dean didn't talk about his personal life or relationships, it's hard to have either when you spend most of your life crammed into a car or sharing a motel room. Sam took a bite of Ryan's homemade pie and mulled whether he should press Dean. To hell with it, if Dean was in a sharing mood he might as well try. "What happened?"

Dean finished his pie and shrugged watching as Ryan squared up the bill with the less-drunk drunks in the booth behind them. "I don't know but she was amazing. She'd changed, grown up. Survived her fucking father…you thought dad was a bastard…" Dean paused and ran his hands down his face. "Fuck…she was funny and sarcastic. Has an ass to die for…We went on a hunt and she ganked this Monster and that was it. We were gonna leave together…then Dad came home and said he had a lead on Azazel. And I couldn't let 'em go alone. Of course we didn't find the yellow eyed son of a bitch…" He shrugged and drained his cup of coffee. "I would've just fucked it up anyways."

"Or maybe you wouldn't be in the mess you're in now." Sam said darkly.

Dean swiped the rest of his brothers pie and muttered, "And you'd be dead…or worse."

"Is she the one?" Sam asked looking up through his long hair.

"The one what?" Dean asked sitting back in the booth eyes drawn back to Ryan at she stood at the counter filling sugar shakers.

"The one you judge the other girls by. I see the look you give them…."

"I don't give 'im a look."

"Yes you do. It's like 'You'll do'." Dean didn't have a comeback for that so he took another drink of coffee. That was exactly what he thought every time he walked out of a bar with someone new on his arm.

Ryan and Inez took the lull in customers to count and divvy up their tips while they waited for their relief. "I'll be off soon," She said circling back to their table for one last refill, "Amy's always a few minutes late." Five minutes later as if on cue the door opened and in rushed a third woman.

"Sorry, sorry I'm here!" She yelled running into the kitchen to grab her apron.

"You're only ten minutes late...that's practically on time for you." Ryan called over her shoulder as she gave the boys a shrug. Dean paid for their coffee before he and Sam headed back outside to the waiting car. They spent the moments waiting for Ryan leaning on the car enjoying the cool night air and the peaceful sound of crickets. "Oh my god you still have her!" Ryan yelled happily seeing the shiny black Impala parked next to her dinged up old Chevy truck.

Dean patted the hood affectionately, "Yeah Baby and me've been through a lot." Sam rolled his eyes at his brothers nickname for the car.

"Lots of trouble if I remember correctly." Ryan countered running her hand along the hood until it rested a few inches from Dean's. "I heard about your dad. I'm sorry." The brothers nodded and shared a silent look. John had been dead for a little over year but it was still fresh enough to hurt.

"Where's Trixie?"

"Her radiator blew a while ago. I just haven't had time to try and fix it. I got Bromhilda though and she's a tough old bitch." Ryan said nodding to the truck they were parked next to.

"You promised us dinner," Sam said.

Ryan nodded. "Right. Just follow me," She said pushing herself away from the Impala and walking around the front of her faded blue truck. "Try to keep up Winchester," she yelled climbing into the cab. Ryan led them away from the diner and through a small town bigger than Rader Creek by a few stop lights. She pulled off the dark two lane road a few miles after the lights from town faded into a dim glow in their review mirror and onto a dirt drive way marked by a black mailbox and a low wooden fence that disappeared in either direction into the darkness. They followed the tree lined drive a few hundred yards until a large two story sky blue farm house appeared from behind the trees. A covered porch wrapped around the entire house. The house was dark but not foreboding, the only light came from a carriage light near the front door and a faint glow from one of the windows on the first floor. A barn, its red finish bright in the moonlight, sat a few hundred feet behind the house. Ryan parked her truck in front of a huge, ancient tree growing out of the middle of the clearing in front of the house. A small grey Volvo was parked closer to the house. Dean pulled the Impala up a moment later and he and his brother eyed the tree cautiously as they got out. The base of the giant tree was easily the length of Baby, its huge knotted and twisting branches reached towards the stars and creaked maliciously even though there was no wind.

"Ry, sweetheart, why is there a Witch Elm in your front yard?" Dean asked as they walked towards each other. A Witch Elm being the cardinal sign the ground had been used for a Witches Sabbat.

"Probably because a mean, nasty baby-eating coven of Witches used to live here," Ryan answered congenially. She patted a knobby hip-high root erupting out of the soil and smiled at the brothers. The ghost-bitches were a pain in the ass to get rid of since the coven had been drawn and quartered by the local witch-finder general back in 1672. Their remains had been buried all over the 50 acres she now owned. "Took me almost six months but I found all their pieces and gave them a good salt and burn. Now they're gone and this is just a tree."

"I thought you were out?" Sam said raising an eyebrow.

She gave him a lop-sided smile, "I said mostly out…I couldn't pass this place up. I got it for a steal. The house and barn are only about thirty years old, but they've been through dozens of owners." She started as she lead them away from their cars and towards the house. "Last people that owned it wanted to use the place to breed racing horses; they upgraded everything. The barn, the entire house; wait 'till you see my kitchen…but they didn't listen to all the local legends about the property bring haunted and they got messed up pretty bad. The missus got thrown out the second floor window, broke both legs and her collarbone. The hubby was almost kicked to death when their prized breeding stallion was spooked by something…They decided they wanted to sell the place cheap and fast and get the hell out of Dodge."

"How cheap? You can't tell me credit card fraud and waitressing gave you enough for the down payment." Dean said.

"I'm on the up and up, D. No more fraud. The short story is I got the money from Paul," Ryan said as she slid her key into the front door.

"And the long story?" Sam asked.

"I'll tell you over dinner."

"And you live here all by yourself?" Dean asked.

She paused with her hand on the doorknob and looked up at him. "Just me and Ellie, my daughter," She answered opening the door into the house. The entry way was dark as she kicked off her shoes next to the door. The faint outlines of several pairs of boots and children's shoes were lined up next to the door. The glow of a TV lit the space under a set of double doors off to the right and the ominous sounds of a horror movie echoed from the room. "Oh…they are in so much trouble." Ryan muttered stalking towards the door. Dean and Sam followed unsurely behind her. She threw the doors open and flipped the lights on yelling, "You two are so busted!"

Two sets of startled screeches rang out as a young girl and an older woman with grey hair jumped off the plush couch they had been lounging on. A bowl of popcorn was upended in their rush to hide their misdeeds. "Oh…oh my I didn't realize how late it had gotten-" The older woman stuttered trying to pause the movie.

"Mom! Mom it's almost over! Dis is the best part! Hatchet man is about to get his revenge-"

"Hatchet Man!" Ryan started, "Inga you're letting her watch Hatchet Man! Ellie I said no more scary movies-"

"Oh…is this Hatchet Man? I must've put in the wrong dvd," Inga said finally figuring out how to pause the movie.

Ryan crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the two rule breakers in front of her. The brothers stood silently behind her watching. "Inga you are worse at lying than she is; Bedtime was two hours ago."

"Mom! No fair. It's summer break. You're so mean…who are they?" The little girl, Ellie, asked pointing at the tall men behind her mother.

Ryan shook her head, "These are my friends, Sam and Dean, and you are still in big trouble so don't try to distract me."

Inga smiled, "Well I should get going. Raoul's up waiting for me…and it is summer break, Ryan."

Ryan blew a piece of hair out of her face. "You're lucky I love you, Inga. And you little Miss Up way past her bedtime, I'll be back-" Ryan told her daughter in using her best 'Mominator' voice before she looked back to Sam and Dean, "I'll be right back. Let me walk Inga out."

"Nice to meet you two." Inga said smiling at the brothers as Ryan walked her out. She murmured something to Ryan who answered, "It's long story." Sam and Dean shared a confused look staring down at the little girl in front of them. She stared back up at them with bright green eyes and tucked a strand of shiny strawberry blonde hair behind her ear.

"You're friends of my mom?" She asked suspiciously.

Dean nodded, "Yeah. I'm Dean, this is my little brother Sam. We've known your mom since she was about your age."

"My mom doesn't haf any friends. Just Inga and Raoul. No one else comes over. No one else is allowed inside the house. Family rules…"

Sam laughed, "That's probably for the best. She's just trying to keep you safe."

Her green eyes narrowed and she yelled, "Christo!"

Dean spluttered laughter. They might have taken her a tad more seriously if she weren't so short and wearing a nightgown designed to make her look like a mermaid. She even wore mermaid slippers on her feet to complete the undersea bedtime look. "We ain't demons kid." He pulled down the corner of his shirt and nodded at Sam to do the same to show her their tattoos. "See just like your moms."

She took a step closer to inspect their skin, "I'm Ellie." She said holding her tiny hand out to shake theirs once she decided they were not threats. Dean saw a silver charm bracelet with the protective anti-possession sigil hanging from her small wrist.

"Nice to meet you kid. How old are you?" Dean said shaking her hand followed by his brother.

"My birfday was a couple monfs ago. I'm six now." She answered. Dean nodded running a hand along his jaw and looked at his brother again. They both looked down at the little girl as she opened her mouth in a wide yawn. Her two front teeth were missing. She looked a lot like Ryan had at that age except Ellie's hair was more blonde and her eyes were the color of green sea glass instead of storm clouds.

Sam stared into her eyes seeing the eyes of his brother looking back at him. "Dean…"

"Yeah. I know," He answered.

"Alright, Eleanor Rae, bedtime." Ryan called walking back into the TV room.

Ellie rubbed her eyes and whined, "Mom no fair! The movie's almost over."

Ryan sighed and looked at the Winchesters, "Sorry. Eleanor is an expert at sweet talking Inga into anything including staying up way past her bedtime to watch scary movies."

"Aw, come on mom, the movies almost over and its summer break." Dean said. Sam stood silently by looking between the yawning kid and his older brother.

Ryan shifted nervously on her feet, "We…we need to talk and I need a shower. And she needs to brush her teeth and go to bed and…."

Dean nodded, "Yeah, yeah I think we do need to talk. We can talk after your shower because you smell like onion rings. Let her finish her movie, I'll make sure she brushes her teeth-"

"Dean will you read to me? Me and mom are reading The Hobbit," Ellie said yanking on Dean's hand.

He looked down at her and smiled. "That's one of my favorites." Ellie gave a victory dance having won the battle to further extend her bedtime as Ryan floundered unsurely for a few moments.

"No shoes in the house! Family rule." Ellie told the brothers pointing at their feet.

"Man, your moms gotta lot of rules." Dean said casually kicking his boots off and falling onto the couch with the bowl of popcorn in his lap. Ellie scrambled up next to him with the remote in hand and restarted her movie.

"There's beer in the fridge. Harder stuff in the cabinet above the stove," She murmured to Sam as she walked out. The younger Winchester looked like he needed a drink, he ground his jaw tightly, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed several times.

After her shower Ryan quietly walked past her daughter's room. Dean sat on the edge of Ellie's bed, his voice soft as he read about Bilbo Baggin's adventure. The night light on Ellie's dresser rotated slowly, filling the room with soft blue light and shadows of mermaids and fishes making it look like they were under the sea. Sam was in the kitchen despondently nursing a beer when Ryan reappeared, damp hair in a braid and wearing a loose 'Nirvana' shirt over a pair of dark leggings. "Spaghetti ok with you, Sammy?" She asked pulling pots out and setting them on the stove.

He nodded and took another sip of his beer. "She seems like a great kid."

She nodded, "She's pretty awesome… just finished kindergarten. Oh and Ellie's decided we're vegetarians by the way. So, sorry but we won't be having any meatballs with dinner." She said turning away from him and busying herself with dumping ingredients into a sauce pot. The kitchen really was her favorite room in the house. The owners before her had spared no expense on upgrading everything from the stainless steel appliances, the bone white cabinets, and the huge kitchen island that she and Ellie ate most of their meals at.

"Where's her dad?" Sam asked staring down into his half empty beer.

"He's umm…he's…" She trailed off. "I was young and we were obviously caught up in the moment… he had a family thing, I had to get away from my father…it's complicated."

"It's not really that complicated is it?" Dean drawled quietly padding into the kitchen still sans boots. He looked at the school work and art hanging from the fridge, tracing his fingers around the little handprint animals and 'Ellie' written in messy crayon letters. "Just say it. I want to hear you say it."

"Dean…" Ryan started. "Please, just let me explain. I know what you're thinking….what you must think about me…"

"Just tell me," He said quietly walking towards her.

"I didn't want to do it this way. I was going to make you dinner...she was supposed to be in bed…" She looked down at her feet, feeling the tears sting her eyes. He placed his hand under her jaw and gently tilted her head up to meet his eyes. The same green eyes that she saw everyday in her daughter. "Eleanor's your daughter," Ryan confessed the secret he already knew. He'd known the instant he laid eyes on her.

"I'm glad you named her after Nan." He shook his head ruefully then said, "Guess we should've been a little more careful. I knew better… dad used to tell me I let my dick do too much of the thinking…"

"It's not like I told you 'no' when we ran out of condoms or to stop and get more...we had a lot of sex...really looking back your stamina was amazing." Ryan said smiling.

"Smart ass." Dean muttered running his hand softly along her jaw and tucking her loose hair behind her ear. "Jesus, Ryan why didn't you even call me. You've been doin' this all on your own?" Sam looked up from his beer to his older brother proud that he wasn't even trying to deny the little girl.

Ryan twisted her hands nervously, "I didn't want to get in your way. I didn't want John to find out. I was afraid of what he would do to you, afraid he'd tell my father... You were going after a demon and I…I wanted out. I was eighteen and alone and all I knew for sure was that I didn't want my kid raised in the life."

Dean nodded and was quiet for a few breaths. "She knows enough to not trust strangers."

"She knows enough to be safe. The very, very basics I mean she's 6... I told you I'm mostly out but I will never be all the way out. I'll do whatever I have to do to keep her safe."

And he knew that was true. That she would protect their daughter and make sure she could protect herself. "What did you tell her about me?"

Ryan blew out a long breath, "I told Ellie that her dad is a hero and one day when he gets a break from saving people he'll come find us because that's what he promised me."

"She looks a lot like you…"

"She acts like you," Ryan said. "She's not afraid of anything. Found her climbing the tree out there like a god damn spider monkey yesterday. She jumped off, flipped in the air and about gave me a heart attack…I'm so sorry." She lowered her head pressing her fingers into her eyes trying to stop from losing it completely.

"It's alright. You don't have anything to be sorry about…" Dean murmured pulling her into an embrace and running his hands through her hair. "I'm so proud of you." Ryan melted into him, wrapping her hands around his middle and resting her head on his chest. She heard the sound of Sam slamming his beer bottle onto the counter with a hollow thud. Then the sound of his barstool being slid across the tile floor followed by the back door swinging shut after he stomped out.

"Sammy's mad at me," She said looking around at the empty space where he had been sitting.

"No, he's not. He's mad at me."

Ryan released him and leaned back pushing her glasses back into place, "I need whiskey. You want some whiskey?"

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Yeah. I'll check the sauce." He turned towards the bubbling sauce that filled the kitchen with warm memories. Ryan stood on her toes next to him and reached into the cabinet over the stove pulling down the bottle of liquor she had stashed up there along with three glasses.

Sam returned to the kitchen just as Dean was ladling sauce onto heaping bowls of noodles. Ryan sat at the kitchen island watching Dean and smiled at Sam when he slid back onto the stool next to her. She pushed a glass of whiskey towards him and he downed it one long swallow. "Guess it's gonna be that kind of night…" She said finishing her own. Dean sat on the other side of her as they started in on their pasta.

"So Paul decided to make up for a lifetime of being the universes biggest dickbag and helped you pay for this place?" Dean asked around a mouth full of pasta.

Ryan smiled and shook her head, "Paul's dead. Heart attack was the official cause of death."

"And the unofficial?" Sam asked.

She paused twirling her fork in her bowl of noodles,"Rufus Turner told me it was a poltergeist."

"Rufus Turner?"

Ryan nodded, "Yeah…he just called me out of the blue one day. I don't even know how the hell he got my number. I've been using my moms maiden name since I left home….anyways he said Paul was dead and there was this insurance company looking for his next of kin. Apparently the bastard still had a life insurance policy from back when he was a truck driver."

"No shit," Dean said.

"No shit." She said smiling and pouring more whiskey into their glasses. "Ellie had just turned two; we were still renting the room over Inga's garage…Then I got a check in the mail and a couple salt and burns later and this place was all ours."

"What are you gonna do after your boss retires?"

Ryan shrugged, dipping her head shyly. "You're gonna think it's dumb."

"Can't be any dumber than the shit I've been getting myself into lately," Dean said shaking his head and taking a sip of whiskey.

She sat back in her seat to look at both brothers, "I'm going to be a wedding planner and caterer."

"A what?" Sam asked.

Ryan blushed, "I'm a decent cook-"

"The best," Dean cut in. She smirked and continued, "And I've got this huge beautiful barn and a whole bunch of property with gorgeous, romantic views…so I'm going to try and start hosting weddings, anniversaries, bar mitzvahs, whatever…I'll cater. Inga, Raoul, Inez and Leo, the other cook at the diner, all want in. I have an appointment with a couple tomorrow looking to book their wedding reception."

"You trust this Inga with our daught- with Ellie?"

Ryan placed a hand gently on Dean's knee, "Inga's been our fairy godmother. She gave us a safe, clean, cheap place to live. I showed up at her doorstep two days before I popped with the ad I saw in the laundromat and she let us move right in. She's taken care of and loved Elie for me since a few days after she was born so I could work and keep a roof over our head. She's our family." Dean nodded and She went quiet for a few moments, "You guys are welcome to stay as long as you want…."

The brothers exchanged another look over her head. Sam gave the slightest, almost imperceptible shake of his head, eyes pleading silently with his brother that every day wasted was a day closer to an eternity in Hell. "We'd love to stay… for a few days at least. We do have a thing but it can wait," Dean said looking his younger brother in the eyes, "For a few days."

"You have a gun that can kill demons?" She asked after they retreated to the over sized couch in the living room. Dean paced the room looking though the bookshelves built into the walls that were crammed with books, DVDs, CDs, and records. "That's what you got outta all that, not the bug curse, or Bloody Mary, or the haunted truck but the Colt?" He said looking over his shoulder at her. Sam had excused himself to his room after Dean had promised they would stay for a few days leaving Dean and Ryan to catch up. He told Ryan about the things they had seen, the monsters they had hunted, that they finally killed Azazel. And He had been the one to fire the kill shot. He didn't tell her about his deal or what had led to it.

She smiled tucking her feet ,now covered in ugly Panda bear slippers, next to her on the couch. She cradled a still steaming cup of tea in her hands. "Bugs and a haunted truck aren't cool. A demon killing gun is cool."

"You know wha's not cool?" He countered holding up a bright blue CD, "Your music collection."

She laughed again, "Shut up, Ellie loves Weezer."

Dean groaned, "Princess, someone's gonna have to teach your daughter some better taste in music."

"I guess someone will have to teach our daughter." She smiled nervously into her mug.

"Are you gonna tell her who I am?"

"Do you want me to?"

Dean shook his head, "I think I need a little more time."

"So are you gonna show my the gun or what?"

"I don't have it anymore…it was stolen from us." He said sliding the CD back into its spot.

Ryan clicked her tongue disappointed, "Bummer….well it's way past my bedtime and I have to look somewhat professional tomorrow if I'm gonna make a good impression."

Dean trailed up the stairs behind her, watching as she turned lights off and made sure the night light in the bathroom was ready in case Ellie needed to get up. Then they paused outside Eleanor's room and watched their little girl sleep. "She like eggs?" He asked.

"Yeah, scrambled with lots of cheese and ketchup." Ryan said slipping her hand into his. He looked down at their clasped hands. "I've missed you. I'm glad you're here…both of you, even if Sam is mad at me." She stood on her toes to place a kiss on the corner of his lips. "Goodnight Dean," she murmured leaving him to watch Ellie.

Ryan woke the next morning to find Dean in the kitchen making breakfast. Ellie was busy telling him about the school year that just finished and Sam was sitting quietly by drinking coffee. "Hey troublemakers," Ryan said stopping to kiss Eleanor on the forehead and rubbing her hand along Deans lower back on her way to the coffee pot. She had her hair twisted up in a bun and instead of a much loved band shirt she wore a smart looking long flannel shirt over a pair of leggings and boots.

"Hey beautiful." Dean replied. He thought she had looked beautiful last night too in her ugly pink waitress uniform covered in coffee and grease stains.

She pushed her glasses into place and looked down at her boots. He could still make her melt into a boneless, blushing puddle on the floor with just a few words or a well placed look. "Ellie Rae I've got a meeting out back in half an hour can you keep Dean and Sam company for me?"

"Yeah mom. Dean said he was gonna fix Trixie for you and I'm gonna help." The little girl answered shoveling a fork full of ketchup covered eggs into her mouth. Ryan smiled into her cup of coffee as Dean slid a plate of scrambled egg whites towards his brother before leaning next to her and picking up his own cup of coffee to take a long drink. Ryan couldn't help but rest her head on Deans shoulder as Ellie began to tell Sam about her 6th birthday party and the mermaid cake Ryan had baked for her. Dean turned his head just enough to kiss the top of her head.

"Alright punk. I'm going to go make the barn look pretty. Don't forget to feed Gemma and the chickens." Ryan said setting her now empty coffee cup in the sink before leaving the house through the same back door Sam had stormed out of last night. Dean watched her from the window over the sink as she walked to the barn.

"Thanks Dean. Those eggs were great," Ellie told as she slurping down the last of her Apple juice. " Sam you wanna help me feed Gemma and the chickens?" She asked sliding off the bar stool.

"Yeah Ellie. Who's Gemma?" Sam asked as the little girl grabbed his hand and led him out the same door Ryan had just left through.

"Gemma's mom's goat. She's kind of mean so watch out."

A short while later a large SUV pulled up outside the barn and a family piled out. Ryan shook hands with the husband and wife to be and led them into the barn to start the tour. Dean had Ellie standing on a step stool looking down into Trixies hood and was patiently trying to teach her which tool was which. Sam stayed behind at the house and every few minutes they would see him as he made a circle around the porch intently talking to someone on his phone. Dean tried to ignore him, no doubt he was bitching to Bobby about wasted time. But Dean wasn't ready to go, this may be the only time he would get to spend with his daughter if they didn't find a way out of his deal.

The couple eventually left and Ryan walked quietly up to the two still working intently on her car. Dean looked up and saw her approach, "So? How'd it go?" He called wiping his hands on a shop towel.

Ellie mimicked his actions, wiping her hands on the towel he set down. "Yeah mama how did it go?"

"They're going to book their wedding with us!" She said happily.

Ellie jumped off her step stool screaming, "Yay mom!" and ran to her. The two broke into a silly victory dance and Dean couldn't help but laugh at them. That night the brothers drove back into town to pick up a couple celebration pizzas.

"Dean, man we gotta go. I get you want to spend time with them but if we don't figure something out...We need to find the Colt, we need a plan-" Sam told his brother as the drove back to Ryan's home. He'd tried talking to his brother every chance he got but never getting more than a few words out before Dean cut him off or they were interrupted by Ryan or Ellie. Now Dean was stuck in the car with him and he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass.

"And if we don't figure something out this is my only chance, Sam. This is it. I want my daughter to remember me...just give me a couple more days. I'm all in, ok? I want outta my deal, I wanna live. I just need a little more time with them. Just in case."

After dinner Ellie and Sam chased lightening bugs while Ryan and Dean shared a beer on the back steps. "She really likes you two." Ryan said watching as Sam lifted the squealing girl onto his shoulders and they charged into the dark in search of more glowing bugs. Dean nodded passing the bottle back. "You want to tell me what's going on?" She asked.

"What?"

Ryan smiled, "You're secret Winchester brother meetings? You two used to sneak off and plan shit when we were kids. You and Sam have been conspiring about something all day and I want to know what it is."

"It's nothin'. Sam's just worried about the case we were workin' on. But It can wait," Dean told her.

Ryan leaned back on the step smiling as a cloud of firefly erupted from the tall grass and Ellie screamed in delight. "You know you two are welcome to stay here. This could be your home, Dean. Forever, if you want it."

"You have no idea how much I want something like that...I just-I've got some stuff I've got to take care of. But it can wait a few more days."

She leaned forward and took his hand in hers. "Whatever it is...I can't have anything putting Eleanor in danger. If you're running from something I can't have that something showing up at my doorstep. If you want out then get out. Stay here. Stay with us."

"God I want that," He told her. "Things would've been a helluva lot different right now if I'd just gone with you but I didn't." He shook his head wiping his hand along his jaw, "I've dug myself into a hole that up until I saw you again I didn't see any point trying to get out of. But I have to find a way out."

"Mama, Dean look how bugs me and Sam caught!" Ellie yelled as she and Sam raced back through the darkness. Sam held a glass mason jar with a small swarm of swirling bugs inside.

"Wow that's great Ellie!" Ryan said taking the jar and tapping it sending the bugs flickering inside. "I think it's bedtime. Sammy looks exhausted." She said smiling as Sam and Ellie yawned loudly.

"Dean will you read to me?" Ellie asked holding her hand out towards him.

He took her hand in his, "Yeah of course Princess. After your brush your teeth..."

Ryan watched Dean read to Ellie until the little girl drifted off to sleep. "You're good at that." She said as he quietly stood and set her book on the nightstand.

"It's a good story," he replied stepping into the hall and leaving the door open halfway. He stood in front of her unsurely as she ran her tongue over her bottom lip. They had been dancing around each other since the night at the diner, stealing brief touches, holding hands, or exchanging chaste kisses like nervous kids.

She ran her hands up his chest and stood on her toes. "Goodnight Dean," She said on a breathy whisper leaning forward to kiss his cheek. He turned his face towards her catching her lips on his. His hands found their way to her waist holding her in place, his tongue ran along her bottom lip seeking entrance and she opened to him with a low moan. Ryan trailed her fingers through his short hair trying to pull him closer as Dean picked her up by the backs of her thighs hooking her legs over his hips for leverage. He backed her into the nearest wall and didn't release her lips until they were both desperate for air. Slightly dizzy and sucking in a quick hungry lung full of air she moaned again when his lips trailed behind her ear and down her neck. She tugged on his hair bringing his lips back to hers. His hand crawled under her shirt pulling down her bra to massage her breast. "Fuck…Dean," She keened letting her head fall to the side as Dean dragged his lips over the curve of her ear.

"Bedroom?" He growled sending shivers up her spine.

"Yes, god, yes. Now," She moaned nodding her chin towards the open door at the end of the hall. He took a step towards her room which was easier said than done with Ryan still attached to his waist, her fingers prying apart the buttons on his shirt and her teeth nipping at his neck.

"Mama?" Ellie's tiny questioning voice cracked straight through the lust-filled haze that had overcome them. "Why's Dean holding you like dat?"

Ryan's eyes sprang open and she released her lips from Dean's neck with a loud 'pop' and stared over his shoulder at their daughter standing half asleep in the doorway of her room. Her little hands trying to rub the sleepiness out of her eyes. "What…why are you awake?…" She paused to take a deep breath, "Dean is holding me because there was a bug on the floor. A really big bug and he was going to squish it for me…Did you get it, D?" She tapped his shoulder to play along. He had frozen like they were caught by a pissed off Cop with a Maglite and not a six year old in Minnie Mouse pajamas.

He stomped one foot on the floor. "Yep…got it that was a big one." He said releasing Ryan to stand on her own feet and pull her shirt down.

She straightened her glasses and placed her hand on his chest mouthing 'Sorry' as he tried to adjust the bulge in his jeans so it would not be so obvious. "Why are you up, Ellie Rae?" she asked stepping around Dean and bending down to look at her sleepy daughter.

"I gotta pee," the little girl responded.

Ryan laughed and stood up. "Alright then. Let's pee." She said guiding Ellie down the hall and into the bathroom. Ryan led them back to the room a few minutes later and tucked the sleepy child back into bed. Dean stood sheepishly in the hallway, his hands tucked into his pockets. "I've got to work the breakfast shift tomorrow at the diner. You feel ok watching Ellie for me or do you want me to drop her off with Inga?"she asked.

"Yeah I got her, sweetheart." Dean said leaning down to kiss her again.

Ryan put her hands on his chest to break the kiss, "I think we should probably get some sleep."

"I don't want to sleep," He said running his lips over her jaw and neck. His hands running through her hair and back under her shirt tickle her skin.

"I haven't," she gasped when Deans hand was suddenly between her legs rubbing her through her leggings. Her hips bucked towards his touch. "Oh fuck Dean...I haven't been with anyone since you."

He leaned back, his hand falling away from the heat he was stoking and looked down at her. "Seriously?"

She shifted on her feet wiping her sweaty palms on her thighs, "Yes...don't look at me like that. I have a kid and I work...I haven't wanted anyone else."

"And do you still want me?" Dean murmured. Ryan worried her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded. "Then you're gonna have to catch some sleep later." He picked her back up like they hadn't been interrupted and carried her the rest of the way into her bedroom. They fumbled in the dark trying to get the door shut and locked before pulling at each other's clothes. Ryan led him in the dark backing away from the door until her legs hit the the edge of her bed. Dean pushed her back onto the bed and pulled her leggings off adding them to the trail of discarded clothing. He kicked his jeans off and the bed dipped with a loud creak as Dean climbed on top of her.

She felt the blunt head of his cock nudge her entrance as he settled between her open legs. "I'm not on birth control and I don't have any condoms," Ryan sighed suddenly as her brain caught up with what her body was doing.

"I'll be careful." He promised. She nodded, her face just visible in the moonlight breaking through the curtains. He slowly pushed inside her neither one willing to wait any longer and let his chin drop to his chest. He cursed under his breath at the sounds escaping her lips once he was fully inside her. Her fingernails dug into his back as his rhythm slowly increased until she was gasping under him, bitting down on her lips trying to keep from making any noise that might wake up their daughter down the hall. He rolled his hips changing his angle and she saw stars. Her hands left his back to press against her mouth when she cried out his name. Her muscles contracted around him as he sent her crashing through wave after wave of her orgasm. He could feeling himself teetering on the edge as her body threatened to pull him into his own release. He was barely able to pull out of her once her body relaxed under him before he came with a satisfied grunt on her inner thigh. "God damn baby girl...you ok?" He murmured against her lips before kissing her and rolling onto his back next to her.

"Yeah yeah I'm good that was good...god I forgot how awesome that is." She laughed tiredly taking her glasses off and setting them on the nightstand next to her bed. "I'm going to need more of that. Seven years is a really long time to go without sex with something that doesn't require batteries." She followed that with an embarrassed snort and covered her face with her hands, "I can believe I just said that out loud."

He propped himself up on his elbow arching an eyebrow at her. "I was going to tell you I needed a nap but now..." He rolled out of the bed his dick already back to half-mast. "Wheredo you keep your toys?" Ryan spluttered, her whole body growing hot with embarrassment and sure she was close to glowing in the near dark of her room. Dean strode purposefully towards her nightstand and started opening drawers to dig under her clothes.

"D just come back to bed." She said sitting up on her elbows trying to stifle a giggle as he bent down giving her the perfect view of his very toned ass. "I'd rather have you."

"Aha!" He yelled triumphantly retrieving a small lockbox buried under her pajamas. He shook it like a kid trying to guess what was inside his wrapped Christmas present. "Why do you lock these up?" He said sitting at the edge of her bed.

Ryan flopped onto her back letting out a long breath, "Because I have a very nosy six year old...the code is 79-84." She added with a smile. Dean sucked his bottom lip between his teeth as he flicked the numbers into place. She was caught between incredibly turned on and frightened by the look Dean gave her after he opened the box.

The alarm on her phone buzzed her awake early the next morning. The moonlight replaced by the pinks and purples of dawn. Dean snored softly beside her. Naked and laying on his stomach and looking as good as any dream she'd ever had. She leaned over and kissed his cheek, "I gotta get to work. I'll be back before lunch." He snored in response.

Ryan returned home well after lunch slightly frustrated at the lack of tips and the extra long shift she had been forced to work when the other waitress didn't bother to show up. She had a little money saved up to keep them afloat for a few weeks after the diner closed but if her business didn't take off she might have to commute out of town for work and she definitely did not want to be that far away from Ellie. She tried not to worry about the future or bring her worries home.

The first thing she noticed as she got within view of her home was that Trixie had been moved from behind the barn and was now parked next to Baby under the old Elm. Ryan smiled knowing that meant Dean and Ellie had got the car running again. A third car, a dusty red Camaro, that she didn't recognize was parked in front of the house in Inga's usual spot. Ryan didn't like strangers in the house. She eyed the car warily noting the South Dakota license plates before heading inside. She kicked her shoes off inside the door and yelled, "Ellie, Dean, Sammy? Where are you?"

"In da kitchen, Mama," Ellie called back then squealed with high pitched laughter.

Ryan headed towards her daughters giggles. "D, who's car is out front?" She asked walking into the kitchen. Dean and Sam leaned against the counter drinking coffee. Ellie sat at the table intently coloring a picture and telling an older man in a baseball cap sitting next to her about the Vampires Ryan had hunted last month after they ate her favorite customer.

"And Mama said she chopped their heads clean off. Thats what they get for eating Mr. Jones."

The older man laughed and Dean shook his head. "I though you were out." He said scowling at her.

Ryan took her apron off and set it on the counter next to the brothers, "I said I was mostly out. I can handle two Vamps. They rolled into my town and caused trouble…. Ellie Rae we don't talk family business in front of strangers…Wait how do you even know about the Vampires?" She demanded.

Ellie continued scribbling on her picture, "I heard you tell Inga. And Bobby's not a stranger he's my friend."

"Bobby?" She stuttered as the man turned around to face her. He smiled broadly not trying to hide the shine of tears in his eyes as he stood to embrace her.

"Hey girl," He said pulling her into a hug. Ryan buried her face in his neck trying to hide her tears from her daughter.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry I never called you." She cried.

Bobby patted the back of her head and murmured reassuringly, "Don't apologize. You've done real good girl. Real good. Your mama and Eleanor'd be so damn proud a'you."

"Hey I'm Eleanor." Ellie said setting her crayons down. Ryan and Bobby laughed wiping tears off their faces.

"It's so good to see you, Bobby." She said sniffing loudly. "How…why-why are you here?"

Bobby put his hands on her shoulders and looked at Dean. "Came to talk to the boys about the case they've been workin'. Seems like we got a lot to talk about…" Ryan looked behind her giving Dean a questioning look. He glanced at her not exactly meeting her eyes before nodding at Bobby. "You gotta a place we can talk business away from the munchkin."

Ryan turned her attention back to Bobby and nodded. "The barn. I'll keep Ellie upstairs. We need to talk about snooping on private conversations." She crooked her finger at her daughter beckoning the little girl out of the kitchen. Even in her bright pink, coffee stained waitress uniform she looked like she meant serious mom-business. Ellie trudged after her giving the men in the kitchen a pleading look. "What else have you heard me tell Inga?" Ryan asked as she and the little girl left the kitchen.

"Bobby I know." Dean immediately said as soon as Ryan and Ellie were out of earshot.

Bobby pulled his hat down low over his ears. "What is that you think you know? Huh? That you got less than five months before you go to the pit-"

"Not in the house." Sam cut in waiving them out the back door. They made it halfway to the barn before Bobby started back up.

"Me and Sam have been bustin' out ass trying to find a way to save you. And you've been blowing us off at every turn. And now you're here and you got that little girl in there that don't even know you're her daddy and she never will if you don't do somethin'!" He yelled pointing a finger at Dean.

Dean gave a tired sigh and scrubbed a hand along his jaw. "I wanna do something…anything….I don't want to die, I don't want to got the pit and I do not want them to hear a word about this. Either way. They stay out of it." Bobby and Sam nodded relieved Dean was finally finding a reason to be serious about saving his soul.

"Then I might have a lead on the Colt but we gotta go ASAP." Bobby told.

Dean shook his head, "I-I'm not ready to leave. We can't just leave without saying goodbye."

Sam sighed, "Then go say goodbye, Dean. If we find a way to save you it's not forever."

Dean looked towards the house. "Just give me until dawn. One more night with them and I'm all in." They agreed and returned to the house to find Ellie and Ryan in the kitchen singing loudly and way off key to a Weezer song blaring out of a small speaker on the counter.

"We're making mac and cheese for dinner! It's my favorite!" Ellie danced around the kitchen when Dean and the others returned. "Up! Dean pick me up!" She yelled raising her arms over her head.

He obliged and swung the little girl up propping her on his forearm and hugging her close to his body. "Mac and cheese is my favorite too." Dean said as Ryan slid the pan holding their dinner into the oven.

"I thought pizza was your favorite." Elie said.

"I got a lot of favorites. Rocky Road is my favorite ice cream-"

"Mine too! What else is your favorite?"

Dean smiled. "Blue's my favorite color. Pie is my favorite desert. You and your mom are my favorite girls."

"Is that why you were sleeping in my moms bed without any clothes on?" Ellie asked innocently. A choked, half laugh half snort popped out of Ryan's throat as she nearly swallowed her tongue in embarrassed surprise. Dean spluttered turning nearly as pink as the uniform Ryan had been wearing earlier. He searched the room for help not finding any in his brother, Bobby or Ryan, who had dissolved into a fit of giggles. She choked out, "I told you she was nosy."

"Are you my dad?" The question cut through the laughter instantly bringing a heavy silence into the kitchen. Ryan stood up pushing her glasses back into place. Dean let out a long breath and ran his free hand through his hair.

"I uhm …I." Ryan gave him a small reassuring smile. He cleared his throat, "Yes I am."

"That's good." She hugged him around the neck then said, "I'm gonna finish my picture now," before slithering out of his grip and skipping back to the kitchen table littered with crayons and scrap paper. Dean stood frozen for a moment. He'd just told Ellie he was her dad. He had missed the first six years of her life and was about to leave again. Maybe forever this time. He wouldn't tell her that part. Ryan broke him out of his revere when she put her hand on his chest.

"You did good," she said softly kissing his cheek.

After enjoying another of Ryan's homemade dinners Ellie once again insisted Dean read to her before bed. Bobby pressed Ryan for information on the town; if she'd run into any other issues besides the vampires. Thankfully the town had been relatively quiet, besides the witches that once haunted the home she now owned and a cursed necklace that Inga picked up at an estate sale quickly bringing her into Ryan's private world, the Vampires had been the only sign of real trouble. "I'm out Bobby. As out as I can be and keep us safe. The Vamps were trying to build a nest. I had to stop them. Ellie was not supposed to find out about them."

"You done real good girl. But I expect a damn call once in a while." Bobby gruffed hugging her again before settling into one of the downstairs bedrooms for the night.

Ryan stopped by Sam's room to say goodnight and found him packing his bag. "You're leaving?" She asked with quiet surprise.

He nodded tossing a pair of socks into his bag. "We need to leave by dawn. We've got that case-"

"The one in Oklahoma?"

"Actually it's moved to Colorado." Dean said coming to stand behind her.

Ryan crossed her arms tightly over her chest hugging herself. "Well...be careful. You're welcome to stop by anytime you swing through Tennessee." She said leaving him to finish packing. Sam silently tapped his wristwatch glaring at his brother.

"Ryan. Damn it will you wait a minute." Dean hissed as she checked the nightlights in the hall outside Ellie's room. The little girl turned over in her sleep and kicked her blankets to a pile on the floor. Ryan covered her back up and tucked a small stuffed bear in her arms that the little girl immediately clung to in her sleep. "Listen to me," He said as she walked back in the hall leaving the door open just a crack. "I don't want to leave."

"Then don't." She said, "There's a way out for you."

He shook his head running in his hands through his hair. "I've made a lot of mistakes. Not drivin' away with you was probably the biggest one. I've got to finish this."

Ryan took her glasses off to wipe at her face, "Please don't go."

"I have to. I have to find a way out of this mess. I swear I'll come back to you." He said leaning down to kiss her. She wrapped her hands around his head pressing her body closer to him and he groaned in response. "I should pack my bag." He said halfheartedly against her lips when she released him.

"I though you weren't leaving until dawn," she said gently tugging him by his flannel shirt back to her room.

"Brat." The door shut behind them and Dean was on her as she turned the lock. Pressing his hard body into her back, pushing her hair out of the way to drag his lips across her neck and shoulder. His hands roamed wherever he could reach, under her shirt, down her stomach and below the band of her pants. She moaned as he went lower, her head falling against his chest as his fingers got her ready for everything else he wanted to do.

"Dean." His name left her lips as a plea when his hands disappeared from her skin and started pulling at her clothes instead. By the time he walked them the few steps from the door and lay her on her bed she was kicking her jeans off in a rush to be naked. He pulled his shirt over his head revealing his toned chest and abdomen. Ryan licked her lips sitting forward on the edge of the bed and reached for his belt. He sucked in a quick breath as she ran her lips in a trail from his left to right hip bone and slowly pulled his jeans down. His dick instantly standing free and erect between them. The sound he made, deep and dripping with sex, when she swirled her tongue over his head before swallowing him as far as she could went straight to the throb between her legs. He tangled his hands in her hair. Her hot, wet tongue, the slight squeeze of her throat as she swallowed around him and the way she shifted on the bed pressing her thighs together in search of some relief brought him to the edge.

"Oh fuck-fuck-fuck baby you gotta stop." He groaned pulling her lips free. She ran the back of her hand over her lips wiping away the shine of spit. "You're making this really hard for me to leave." He growled as she slid further up the bed opening her legs invitingly.

"That's the point." She said smiling. "We're runnin' out of moonlight."

Dean climbed lithely onto the bed. "I'll be careful." He once again promised as he lined himself up with her entrance.

"I don't want to be careful." Ryan murmured into his ear as he thrust into her. She rocked her hips meeting each of his thrusts.

Dean grew still inside of her. "Babygirl I'm not gonna be around...maybe for a while."

"Ellie's the best thing that ever happened to me and you gave her to me." She rocked her hips against him again, "Dean I want this." She pulled him closer, wrapping her legs around his hips and kissed his hesitation away. If he needed another motivation to get out of his deal she'd just given it to him. He drowned out her moans with his lips as slid further inside her. He leaned back grabbing her hips for leverage and she bit her lips to keep quiet. His thumb found her clit and rubbed firm circles making her pant curses under breath with each thrust of his hips.

"ohfuckohfuckohfuck," She moaned feeling herself tighten around him until finally she came undone her whole body trembling under him. This time he didn't pull out, he rode the waves of her orgasm, her inner muscles wet and hot and pulsing around him until he saw black spots and came inside her with a grunt. He released his bruising grip on her thighs and leaned down to kiss her as he softened leaving a trail of warmth on her inner thighs. He lay his head on her chest, listening to her heart beat and rested a hand on her lower stomach. They were both quiet for a long time letting the gravity of what they just decided to do sink in.

He finally left her bed shortly before dawn and dressed in the darkness. He stopped by Ellie's room and kissed her forehead without waking her. Sam and Bobby waited in the hallway by the front door as Dean and Ryan descended the stairs. They said their goodbyes, Ryan once again promising to call Bobby and to stay away from things that go bump in the night. "Take care of him. Me and Ellie are expecting him to come home. Eventually." She quietly told Sam as he leaned down to hug her.

He nodded stiffly, "I'll do my best."

Dean was last, drawing out the moment he had to leave her in the rearview mirror. "You may not see me again for a while."

"I know." Ryan replied.

"I will come back. I promise," He said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll be out. All this will be behind us."

She nodded, "I love you. We'll be here." He brushed his lips lightly on her forehead as the tears she'd been fighting to keep contained trailed down her cheeks. His lips met hers and she wrapped her hands in the soft fabric in his shirt like if she held him tight enough she could keep him safe from the storm he was about to face. This wasn't a normal hunt; she felt that in her bones but she was also thankful Dean and Sam hadn't got her or Ellie anymore involved than they already were.

"I'll love you." He said quietly his lips brushing against her with each word. "I'll find you when this is all over."

Epilogue

Dean and Sam left before the sun rose. He and Ryan didn't say goodbye. She stayed on the porch long after the dusty red Camaro and the shiny Black Impala disappeared.

She didn't believe in God or Angels, not really, but she prayed anyways. Prayed to anyone or anything that was listening to let him come back. They'd lost each other before, drifted apart, been pulled apart and still found their way back to each other.

Her prayers went unanswered as days turned to weeks. Weeks turned into months. The diner closed. Her business took off. Ellie stopped asking when her dad was coming home and instead asked when she'd get to meet the baby growing in Ryan's belly.

For a short time the young mother that lived out at the old haunted farmhouse had become the talk of the town when she waddled down Main Street hugely pregnant, holding Ellie's hand and with no man in sight. She named their son Conner and he looked so much like Dean it hurt. But she wouldn't trade them for the world. They were her world. Her little family thrived regardless of the freak tornados, swarms of locusts and a rash of bonafide zombies that caused quite a ruckus in town before Ryan and a few others got things settled. It had seemed like the world was ready to end. Then the sky cleared and life moved on. The town may have come up with colorful excuses to explain the dead rising but they never forgot who saved their lives. From then on any celebration from baby showers to wedding anniversaries were spent at Ryan's farm.

The Miller wedding reception had finished without a hitch. Ryan sent Inga and the others home early. They deserved the break, the bride had been one of the worse she'd had to deal with yet and she needed the quiet monotonous work of cleaning up to decompress. She could put the tables and chairs away at her own leisurely pace while the kids played. Conner chased after his sister on chubby unsteady toddler legs while Ellie darted away from him screeching with laughter. The baby misjudged his next step and landed on his butt with an indigent cry. "Ellie Rae, play nice with your brother!" Ryan called out of the barn stacking chairs along the wall.

"Mama someones here!" Ellie yelled back.

Conner's angry cry turned instantly to excited babble calling after his sister, "El, El!"

Ryan let out a tired breath pushing her glasses up her nose with her least dusty finger and walked out of the barn to see what trouble her kids were getting into. Her sandy haired son had given up chasing after his sister and instead was stalking purposefully towards the chicken coop. "Conner Dean where do you think you're goin'?" Ryan asked swopping him up before he could reach his intended targets.

"Mama no!" The little boy yelled once the chickens feathers were safely out of reach.

"Conner no. Where's your sister?" Ryan asked swinging him onto her hip. The little boy pointed vaguely towards the front of the house where his big sister had run off to when she heard the approaching car. "Eleanor?" She didn't like it when the kids greeted visitors without her. The last few years had brought her back to the fringes of hunting when dangers had ebbed to close for comfort.

"Mama! Look who's here!" Ellie's excited breathless voice sounded from the front of the house. The little girl appeared a moment later dragging a man behind her. Underneath the sad eyes and worry lines he was still the boy she'd fallen in love with, the man she dreamed of, the one she never gave up hope to see again. There was a million things she wanted to say. A million things they would finally have to time to say.

"Took you long enough." She said smiling through tears.

"Brat." He replied smiling down at her.

Authors note:

So I know I already wrote a story about Season 4. But it's one of my favorites. I also love the angsty, knocked up trope. I wanted to write this story as kind of a challenge to myself that I could actually come up with a fleshed out AU story without following the series exactly. Read, review. Thank you for reading.


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